Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1864-08-18
special Dispatch to The World.l
IN TIE FIELD BEFORE PETERSBURG,

was that From what direction did that
unearthly, terrible sound come? The above
questions, asked me 10y brother cores
pondcnt as we were riding quietly along our
| lines yesterday morning, were elected by one
| Of the most fearful explosions ever heard?
What could it be, and whence did it pro-
cced For the first question we could find
no satisfactory solution. 1t could not be Il
mine, for two reasons: springing Of mines
cause but dull rumbling sound, and no
such proceeding would be apt to occur sea-
ward from our lines. Perhaps twas gun
boat that was blown up. Possibly it was
the uproar seemed to come from City Point
| This being the unanimous conclusion, true
te our rcportorial instincts, we Immediately
headed our animals in that direction, intent
upon fcrritting out particulars. From
where we were City Point was distant about
! eight miles, and although we were going to-
ward it, and consequently uniformed on
the subject, we were for the first few miles
periodically stopped by anxious soldiers
tcamsters and suttlers, who wanted to know
what it was that exploded, as we in turn,
brimful of curiosity, interrogatcd every one
we met coming from that point. The infor-
nation we gledned in this manner was to
the effect that a boat containing ammunition
had been blown up, doing an immense
amount of damage to the wharves, buildings
and boats in the vicinity, besides killing and
wounding many persons. Intelligence
gained in this way is usually very much ex-
aggcratcd and otherwise Incorrect but, OH
would to heaven it had been no worse than
represented by our informants on this occa-
sion. From the faint account as given us,
how poorly prepared We were to witness
the sickening reality. a short gallop and
we were on the spot.
How shall describe the scene that greet
cd my vision? From the cliff on which
stood | could at glance take in the entire
view-houses partially and completely de.
molished, tents torn to pieces, wharves de
, stroyed, and boats badly battered; tn,
, ground for hundreds of feet around strcwr
with remnants Of the wreck, chaotic piles o
massive and shivered timbers ordnance ant
; commissary stores, saddles, shot, bullets
= splintercd weapons, beans, -four, coffee
t pickles; aud amid this conglameratc mas
( was to be seen, horror Of horrors, the re
mains Of human bodies, manged, dismcm
bcrcd, shattered and charred, so that scare
} a trace remained to show that they wcr
once men. Evcnthe cliff which mention
ed, and which is upward of forty feet high
) and some two hundred feet distant from tn
water edge, was covered with saddles, III
ined arms, and portions of the wrecked
= boat. One shattered corpse was also found
but had been removed ere | arrived. Hou
5 ses on this elevation were somewhat dam
aged, but not seriously.
Casting about me for particulars, | met
person who, from a ug-boat, had witnessed
the explosion and its fearful effects. The
boat on which the accident occurred was
it appears, the ordnance barge of the Army
% A.. 4 l,1, a.
powder, shot, and shell, fixed cartridges fol
field artillery, muskct cartridges, sigma
rockets and, in fact, all manner of ordnance
stores To guard against accident, anoth
er boat was placed between it and the pier
SO that no one could go on her whom busi
ness did not call there. Another boat lay
outside her to prevent any vessel from haul
ing directly alongside. The explosion
which occurred about IL clock, is describ
ed as being sight Of uncommon grandeur
First appeared dense, impcnetrab!e vol
umc Of black smoke, through the centre O
2 which burst instantancously flash so bri
liant and so sharp as to dazzle the eye
G while following was to be seen a rotatin
# circeof pure white smoke. The air wa
C filled with fragments ofthe shivered boats
h intermlXed with kissing shot, shell, and val
c ous other dangerous missiles, which ha
c been projected by the tremendous power.
c When this heterogeneous shower began
. descend it truly seemed as though heaven
t artillery had opened on us. As may readil
t be supposed the greatest excitement pre-
vailed for some minutes after; but order wa
4 soon restored, and systematic plan for a,
2 sistng the helpless ones was adopted.
3 First to the dock. Here it was discover
s cd there were few to be chelped, as those VIII
: were employed near the boat at the tim
8 were either blown to pieces or killed out
! right Here it was found also, that of th
5 three barges nothing but fragments wcr
visible. Two had been blown to atoms, an
# one sunk All the commissary store hou
t cs were totally smashed up, as also the builC
l. ings occupied by the Post Office, by Adam
IS and Cos. Express, and the harbor-maste
y These latter buildings were some seventy-iy
It feet from the wharf and across the railroa,
h On the railroad was found the keel of on
l. OF the boats, while another portion of ht
c was discovered on the cliff In the tire,
It back of this cliff were found saddles an
portions of articles of dress. or the boa
II i'll the vicinity many We're more or less dan
Il aged. One Of the sanitary commissio
; boats received twenty seven shots throug
}3 her hull one of these passing through
q cabin where n clerk was writing, completed
i demolished the table he was using Thro
= of the clerks of the express company wer
% sitting in the office, n shell fell among thel
3 exploded but they were not damaged :
8 The money packages were strewn LIBERAL
: around the ncighborhood, but were nearl
u or quite all recovered There were but fe'
/, letters in the Post office, the mail havin
c left an hour previously. The working d,
e tail appointed to help the wounded and bur
S the dead accomplish their task with grea
celebrity. Another detail for the purpose c
: removing the debris from the railroad pei
h formed their task admirably in few hours
h The loss will never be correctly ascertaineC
5 as there are always some strangers abol
l. the dock and vicinity. Had the accidei
occurred one hour earlier, over one thor
y sand persons must have perished, as IL
It mail boat would have been there at tn;
}, time.
G What caused the explosion no one pr
tends to know. The only men likely
know anything of it perished These we
the sergeant in charge and q detail who We
issuing ordnance stores at the time. Il
y told that men have been seen smoking II
C. uucntly, when the matches We're opened
a II this statement is true, the explosion
ii not to be wondered at Others attempt
re prove it was caused by torpedo being d
le charged under her; but this class Of belle
III ors is small.
er Mrs, Spencer, belonging to one of the
to lief agencies, was riding by on horseback
he the time, and was struck in several plaI
cs bv hyinp missiles hut not badly hurt. H