Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1864-08-18
TERRIBLE EXPLOSION AT CITY POINT,
Explosion OF Anmaunition Boats-Loss Of life
Great Destruction Of Property


tho destruction of large amount Of properly TOOK place
at City Poiut the James river at about II o'clock
Tuesday, the 9th instant.
The disaster from the explosion Of boat loaded
with various kinds of ammunition, which being
loaded by. the negroes of the Quarermaster's Depart
ment, nearly hundred n number, and the only theory
advanced as to the of the calamity tina. shell
must have been dropped by of them thus communca
ting the fire to the entire The noise lasted about
thirty seconds witnesses say and the shock felt
long distance The ruin caused at the of the dis
aster general-buildngs demolished, tents thrown
down. horses killed. the depot building, just completed
of ruins while the ground for hundreds of yards
was covered with property Of almost every description.
Tho dead and wounded, exrcated from the
ruins carried back the former for burial and the
latter to the hospitals
Gen GRANT reports the casualties thus: Killed. twelve
enlisted men, two citizens, employe and one civilian not
employed by the Government, and thirty eight coored
laborers Wounded, three commissioned officers four
enlisted men, fifteen civilians employed by the Government
and eghtyx colored aborers Besides these there
eighteen others wounded soldiers and citizens belong
| ing about the wharf.
Gen Grant does not report the amount of damage to
property He says it was large Newspaper letters est
mate the loss of property at two millions of dollars.
correspondent of the Tribune thus describes the locality of
| the disaster:
At the main steamboat landing here where the mail
boat lands there is (Nhat's left of i) substantial new
pine wharf, third OF mile in length along the
Back on this ten or twelve feet from the edge of
| 1t, ran mammoth new pine Government warehouse,
nearly the length Of the wharf along the river built in
the most substantial manner, and which had just made
note Of beng quarter of mile in length, sixty
feet wide and twenty-five feet high, from floor to apex
and capable of standing the and tear of for at
least quarter of century Back of this warehouse from
the river the railroad track along the platform of The
warehouse making the transition Of freight from the boats
to the railroad trains simply through the warehouse Be-
yond the railroad track from the warehouse
the bill upon which the town is situated new pine
row, in which the post Office Adams's Express Office, and
Qusrtermatsrs Office were kept aud lew old build
ugs occupied suffers establishments &c while upon
the HILL beside the city ofens there scattered about
a dozen substantial frame residences, occupied
now mostly Tor various military purposes.
" The mailbost has been landing about the middle of
this wharf and warehouse, of the middle sections Of
the warehouse being fitted up into offices and devoted to
fine commissary stores and such fregh usually
ried by the mail boats while adjoining this section Of the
warehouse above is another section left open court
the passage Of horses passengers &C. to and from the
boats
just above this open section, and above where the mail
boats landed, opposite munton section of the
house, lay, next to the wharf the barge Major General
Meade, loaded with condemned stores, including
demned ammuniton outside Of her the ammunition barge
H. Kendr lick loaded with fixed ammunition for distr.
button and outside Of or her, the J. c. CAM ball.
loaded with c0mmiasary stores with other boats and
sells close around and above and below"
The writer had just mailed letter at City Point and
got upon to return to the front when the explosion
| occurred. Its effects thus described
Il did not know much of any thing stunning and
deafeniDg shock if OF the terrific explosion of
shell me, and the conclusion of the air bending
me Involuntary the deck Of the car as plant
bending before the storm and it seemed that the concus
sion would never ringing and swayng until it bred
more aud danger Aud oh how it did rain and hail
| ell the terrible instruments of war;
" 1t the ammunition barge j. E. Kendrck that had
exploded from the careless handling of percussion shells
or some other kind OF ammunition, 1t is supposed No
that aboard Of the boat remans to tell the tale her
destruction. The spnters that strew the river may be
hers they may The section the twisted ribs of
keel that lie IN the most requened part OF the town. on
the HILL two hundred yards distant may be hers or they
may belong TO one OF her disappeared consorts.
You haveresd OF eraptons Of Vesuvus such buried
Hercuaneum and Pompe You have illustrations Of
them in the books This must have been such eIpo-
zion Of these, except that nsesd Of lava and dust
aud sshes ii rained the circle Of mile in whole
packages and by pecemea, every thing you imagine
at military depot Entire boxes OF fixed ammunition
down among the t'nts in the town, quarter of
mile distant and scarcely tent house boat can be
found within the circle Of mile that not riddled by
shell. solid shot or small ammunition.
THE massive pine wharf in front OF where these boats
lay, which boed down upon piles and sIeepers of
pine ross s brushed aside for about third of it's length
il it bad been made Of the paper write on while The
substantial plank warehouse with ssve be ANS has been
crushed nearly its entire length if it had been lsdys
b4ndbox. he freight train that just ready to start
when the explosion happened shattered nearly every
car, though not past repair.
! "The pine board in which were the post Office
Adamss express Office and Quartermasters Office was
crushed by the conclusion and the heavier forces
brought against it. like band box, but fortunately or
rather tremendously Of its occupants were seriously
injured The neighborihg suffers while equally unfotu
nate in the demolition Of their establishments were equally
fortunate understsnd, in the safety of their persons
with perhaps one or two exceptions.
Every frame house IN the town Jared by the con-
cusson alone TO the extent OF having ts nsde paerng
knocked or beside Other damages by missiles, &C Against
the houses and other distractions The wharf
upoa as BILL hundreds and perbaps Thousands Of broken
twisted and splintered mnskes and such debris 10y in
drifts like straw drifted by tae Wind md all the
ground for at quarter Of mile from the of
The eIp sion the SHE'LL sol shot grape CANISTER musket
and Mimic balls, pieces Of shells nails, screws bolts and
b0ltbeads and fragments 81 almost every thing wooden
iron ard leaden you think Of strewn and dred
like hail and shunks of ice Immediately alter dreadful
| Ia storm. ,
up the HILL two hundred yards from the scene OF
the explosion, / noticed shattered musket among
many others ying around stuck muzze fret the hard
street 10 the depth OF than foot and tight that
could not be pulled by any man. This was near
where the twse section Of boat keel lay Every where
the rents dents deep abrasons and SCARED fur
Of the iron and lesden storm The thousandh part
cannot be told.
The entire oss Of property by the explosion is es.
mated at about two millions The noise Of the explosion
heard for many miles around further than any art-
ery and the smoke ascending taken, thirty forty
miles down the for the conhagaton Of Petersburg
or Richmond Vast water spouts thrown up, which,
minging with the powder, ciuders and ashes caused
black, pastry shower, with the other debris"