Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-08-17


then returned 10 Berwick Bay.
On the 29th ult party Of General Williams scouts
had fight with the RsbelS near hoFganzis, resulting
ia the q gbt of the Rebels leaving their captain aud
several men dead, aud rumDer Of wounded IA our
hands. 80
Six steam transports from BrasOs, Santiago arrived
at New Orleans the 9Th supposed 10 be laden Win
the troops Withdrawn from Texas
The Express saye that passengers by the Evening
from New Orleans reports thss the rebels In strong
force outside Of Algers within six or seven miles OF
New 0rlesns terrifying the pabe and constructing in
trenchments apparently with the intention OF making
that place Of offensive operations. They are COM
msnded by General Taylor. Tie Teohe District ia also
occupied by the enemy in large force ia order to pre-
vent another advance oour troops through that region
to Texas.
Secessionsts in New Orleans profess to believe that
ia Of no importance If Mobile Is lost to the rebels
1t is stated that the rebels erecting battery at
Brownsville to protect the coAlrablnd made the Rio
GFande.
The TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AT CITY PorHf.
The explosion at City Point was a very disastrous
afflr-- So parsons we're killed and l26 Wchuaed. The
correspondent Of the New York Tribune gives an ac
count of it, from which we make the following
tracts;
Orr PoIsT, Va, August 9.
Your humble correspondent, with many others has
j ist come very near being blotted out Alter mailing
nv poor letter this morning on the 10 O'Clock mail
boat, and locking around the town an hour or eos
took the 1880 freight tain, as nay won't for front,
whero my hea Quarters and horse are walked well
back the train up riyerwards Whsn the fret thing
knew did not know much OF anything, A Summing
aud deafening shock il Of the terrific explosion Of
monster shell near me- and the concu sion OF the air,
we're bending mo inVountaTy on the deak OF the
car plant bending before the storm, and seemed
that the conclusion would never cease ringing aud
swsyng until it bred more and more danger.
hnt,a, IN Nka hrFN ta
ccncus ion alone the extent of having ito inside pas
terms knocked of, beside other damages by missiles,
So Against the hOuses and other obstrUcoi tie
wharf, and even upon the hill, hundreds and perhaps
thousands Of broken, twisted an fplntered muskeis
and such debfs sy n drifts like straw drfted by the
wind, and all tho ground foe e. least q1Arter Of
mile iIom the scene Of the explosion she'll solid shot,
gsps canister, muskot and mDie balls pieces of shes
nails, screws bolIs and bolt heads and fragments of
almost everything wooden, iron and lssden you can
thnk CT strewn and drfted like hail and chunks Of
Toe Immediately after O dreadful hail storm.
Every where tho rents dents deep abrasions
aud ecsrred furrows of the iron and eaden TIE
thousan9th part cannot be told.
Ey frat thought WAS that ammunition car had eK.
plcdsd Just ahead Of the one was on, aud that il
would DO of little 10 try 20 escape the storm that had
gone up and would come do1n-tbst one was about as
safe in one place hsr, aud oh how it did rain,
aud hal all the serribie icoTumeut- Of war.
IL VAS MOI railroad car, but the ammunition barge
J. K ,ndrick, that had exploded from the careless
handling Of percussion ehes or some other kind of
Ammunition it is supposed NJ one that was aboard Of
the boat remains tell The tale of her desLruc iOn.
aplners that the river may DO hers, or they
may ne not. TOE section of the twisted lbs of kes
u at lie in the most frequ ned part of thetoSn, the
hill two hundred yards dist6n., may be hers or they
m'y b.long to one Of ter DISAPPEARED eonso. ts.
You have read OF eruptions of Vesuvius, such az
buried HoICulOneum and PoDpsii You have seen ire.
tralons of them in the / )ks. This must have been
such explosion Of these except that instead of
lava aud dust end sshes il rained over the circle of
nile, in whole packages and by piece al everything
you imagine at military depot Entire boxes OF
fixed ammunition came down among the tents IN the
RwI qusr er OF mile staus and scarcely tent CT
house OF boat be found within The circle Of a mile
that is not ridded by shell, solid shot, email anmu
niiio2
How many we're blown in atoms into the river from
Ksndrick, never to be heard Of is not known. Tie
Captain Of the KeDdrck Is SAFE having been absent at
the time Of the explosion another beat The other
boats entirely destroyed and sunk wore the Gen. Aeaee
and the ]. O. Campbtn.
The massive pine wharf In front of Whero these boats
lay, which was 1oted down upon piles and seepers of
pine trees, is brushed aside for about third OF its
eng h, as if it had been made of the paper write o.
while the substantial plank warehouse, with massive
beams, built for sleasa quarter OF century, has been
crushed nearly it's entire length, as il il had been
sdys baud box. The freight train that was ast re.dy
to start when the explosion happened, is shattered in
nearly every car though not past repair and bad the
uDint6res ing salts acton OF seeing where my remains
would probably have in, the heads of the Whiskey
barrels, II had remained in the cor first occupied
The pine board row 10 which we're tbs post Office,
Adams Express office, aud lar e.maters Office was
also cruhed by the conclusion and the heavier forces
brought against it. like band box but fortunately, or
rather, mrscuously, OF ts occupants we're sori-
ously Injured. The neighboring suuers while equally
unfortunate 10 the demolition OF their esabli hments
were equally Fortunate, understand in the safety Of
their pessoas with or two exceptions which
will be found in the accompanying list Of casualties.
CRY POINr, August 10 The mornings sun shines
brightly upon the shattered, riddled, and blsekened
oFn, wharf and chipping. The only wonder this morn
ing, is that many we're not led en- wounded by
the terrific storm of Lead iron and ragged rpikes
ploded t;mbers yesterday, than there But thou
sand or two aboTers are az work this mornng clearing
awcy the debris of the explosion, and hIgs and martial
sie aAoat to soOthe the plOg of yesterdays desc
Ation.
Various theories are ahost "a 20 the cause Of the ex
plosion. Some cay the careless handling of ammuni-
toi Others old time torpedo eurmise rebel
coy in the matter while others attribute the disaster 10
rebel hell shot from across the river The matter
Sil be thoroughly investigated to-day. The Govern
Mt stores in the big warehouse were considerably
jured By water and Otherwise but to no very gIett
ex tent.
Tie entire loss of property BY the explosion esti
mated at two millions. TIE noise Of the explosion was
heard for many mica sFoun further than any artillery
and the smoke ascending vas taken thirty or forty
miles do1n the river for the conf gratioa OF Psers.
burg Richmond. Vast water spouls thrown up,
which, mineling with the powder, cinders and sshes,
Calsed black pastry shower with the other debris.
zzzzz..s-u.zz9z-su