Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-08-12
Terrible Explosion.

4 WASHINGTON, Aug. 1l.-A letter from
!. City Point, dated the 10th, gives an account
OF the explosion of boat loaded with am
munition. Buildings were demolished,
tents scattered, horses killed in every direc-
tion. The new depot building was mass
of ruins, and a number of persons killed or
wounded. The boat was being unloaded by
negroes numbering nearly one hundred,
and 1t Is issupposed a shell must have drop
ped which communicated fire to the whole
| lot. Luckily most of the shells, &C., struck
the steep bank of the landing, or the loss of
| life would have been very large. The Post
office and Adams Express Office were near
| ly thrown down, the large number of per-
sons occupying them miraculously escap-
ing with slight bruises.
! A boat loaded with stores, lying along
side another, was torn to pieces, a large por-
tion of 1t being raised completely out of the
water and thrown through the storehouse
on the dock. Capt. Benedict and Capt.
Ames, of the Commissary Department,
were in the building at the time, and were
buried beneath the ruins. After considera-
BILE labor they were eXtricated, neither be-
ing fatally injured, though q good deal
bruised. Capt. D. d. Wiley, who was in
his tent quite distance from the spot. was
struck in the head by piece of shell and
injured, though not dangerously. Mr.. Nc
Kee, his clerk, was so seriously injured at
the sameAtime that he cannot recover
Lieut.. Lane, of the Navy Department, was
slightly injured. James Thorp, q clerk in
! the ordnance Office, was killed. Mr.. Fay,
of the Sanitary Commission was slightly
! injured. Mrs. Spencer, relief agent, receiv-
ed slight injuries. The casualties are be-
lieved to be at least fifty killed and one
hundred wounded. A number of bodies
of colored persons have been found, besides
those above mentioned, and there are six
teen in the boat hospital, while others
we're scattered in. different, localities
Twenty-Five colored men, more or less
wounded, were taken to the colored general
hospital, where several amputatiOns were
, performed. Five shells passed through the
Sanitary Commission boat. No one on it
was injured.
It's believed that many bodies were blown
| into the river, which will never be recover
ed. Captain Schuyler Provost Marshal,
who was sitting on the top of bank of the
river, was lifted up and thrown distance
of ten or twelve feet, receiving shower of
shells around him, but escaped without
scratch. Our loss is put down by him at
about thirty Killed and seventy or eighty
wounded, twelve of the killed being SOL
diers. ,i' ggl loi.t ytl.i OBJ H ,iSN
Nothing has yet been discovered as to the
cause of the calamity. In the Commissary
department, six men are known to be kill
ed and some twenty-five wounded. Three
men belonging to the railroad were injured.
The loss of property is not known, but will
prove very large. The 10Th New York vol
unteers lose six killed and seventeen wound
ed. The 14Sth Ohio lose three killed and
four wounded. The boat Lewis caught
fire, when wrecking tug run ashore, and
extending her hose threw six streams on
the fire, putting out, the flames and thus
saving a large amount OF ammunition.
Considerable firing is going 5n at the
front this morning. One of the gunboats
opened during the night and threw num-
Der of shells at what was supposed to be a
moving rebel torceI.L - ssFElgciAcT