The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1864-12-15
Terrible Rnilroad Accident.
FrlsAtrul Ca,a.tropho and Los. of Llf,

Terrible RnjlrOad Accident.
Frightful Catastrophe and Loss of Life.
We have TO record the most terrible
and fatal casualty ever known in this
country. Yesterday morning at an
early hour, very largo train left
Orange, New Jersey, on route for the
White House, Washington, d. c., un-
der the charge Of chief engineer, George
B. Mcclellan. 1t was expected to make
the. trip in twelve hours. The train
was very heavily laden with merchan-
disc shipped by n New York Jew
House, August Belmont, agent All
the Copperheads in the country were
passengers, besides a few innocent pco-
pie who had been dcluded into taking
an excursion trip by. the offer of dead
head tickets. Horatio Seymour ofNew
York, was the conductor assisted by
Franklin Pierce, G. L. Vallandigham
and Joel Parker. Ben Wood WAS ap-
pointed to hold all the money received
for fares and wore a hat band marked
conspicuossly 4,ll-44.
For convenience and comfort the
passengers were classified in the cars );
the fogics under charge of Robert c.
Winthrop and Miliard Fillmore, the
short boys UNDER John Van Buren aud
Captain Rynders; the ,mountebanks
and minstrels led by Jack Rogers and
Marble, editor Of the World, and the
few clcrgymen marshalled by the very
Rcvs. G, Chauncy Burr, and II. |. Van
Dyke. There were several cars that
were intended to be attached to the
tr lin that did not mako connection
one from Canada, with George N.
Saunders, conductor, and a roomy one
from New York filled with Governor
Scymour's "fricnds, were both detain.
cd by the unwarrantable interference
of n man named Benjamin +. Butler,
who come to New York, last week, 10
''stop spell" The cars were elegant
ly decorated with such elegant notices
as the following; "Butter has liz
"Abc Lincoln is a gorilla "Littlc
Mikes the by be jabcrs,' "Niggcrs for
slaves, Irishmen for our masters"
"We are coming brother JEFF" "Lct
us change our base" Heres your
spaniels for you Massa Davis"
They moved out of the Orange depot
gaily, to the tune of Dixie, though the
engineer hesitated, when the final mo-
ment of departure came, about stop
ping on the platform, and was only
got on board by little expedicnt of
Fernando Wood, who pulled him into
the train backwards by the coat tail.
Engineer Mcclellan was dressed in the
full rig of a Major General for which
his Uncle Sam paid. He was very
ncrv GUS, and remarked that he should
prefer gunhoat to ride on such a
locomotive. The engine was a new
one, built at Chicago last August, but
on Il plan designed by Benedict Ar
mold, and subsequently improved by
Aaron Burr and John G. Calhoun. 1t
was built to the order of jeff Davis
and bore the engaging name Of "Cessa-
tion" which was adopted as slight
change from the original designation
"SccessiC H." ..... ...
1t occasioned q good deal of remark
that hardly any soldiers took passage
on the train. There were some men
named Grant, Sherman, Hooker and
Dix around, who very ungcnerously
expressed doubts as to the safety of the
track and the ability of the engineer,
and it is Pupposed this prejudiced the
':blue coat" boys. Besides this the
conductos of the train refused TO have
an American flag on the engine and
the soldiers have q stubborn feeling
on that subject. Notwithstanding all
these slight drawbacks the train NOV
cd off with the good wishes and cheers
of all the rebel soldiers in Lees army,
all the British aristocrats and the Pi.
rate Semmes and his friends. From all
that can be learned from the incohc.
rent talk of tho few survivors of the
sad catastrophe, it appears there was
trouble from the very start.
The engineer and his fireman, Pen.
dcton, quarreled all the trip about
the method Of firing up, and the con.
ductors and farctakers were constant.
ly giving contradictory orders to the
brakemen, and nervous conservative
old gentlcmen pulled frautically al
the bell-ropc, giving engineer McClel'
Ian no end OF trouble. Just how the
accident happened no one can tell now
but certain it is that before the train
had got half way through there was q
shocking smash up. '.' '..'', . .A..
The locomotive exploded, the cars
were all piled up in fragments, the
track torn up and such multitude
of passengers fatally injured that it s
doubtful if their names can ever be
ascertained. Some assert that an old
Illinois joker, familiarly called Abe
caused the disaster by putting a rail
on the track others that the fireman
Pendleton let too much water out Of
the peace tank, upon tho fire in Nc
Clellan's boiler; others that Vallan.
digham ran the train off the track by
dropping an 20. A. K.' stick Of timber