Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-08-15
THE GREAT EXPLOSION

Terrible Loss OF Life and Property
Graphic Account OF Incidents. and
Scenes.
Special to the New York Tribune.
Cry POINT, Va, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 1854.
Your humble correspondent, with many
others, has just come very near being blot
ted out In fact it is not sure that he has
not been, and that this is not his spirit,
from the force of habit and sense of duty,
trying to communicate with you. But he
feels of his head physical, and thinks he
still has one (though a little shaky, per-
haps,) and that he is unscathed from head
to foot, except little torn raiment; and he
devoutly-as Christian or Mahonmedan
ever did-thanks God for his deliVerance.
He accepts the awful call so nearly and so
loudly made, as terrible warning of the
uncertainty of human life, and that in the
midst of life We are in death.
Twill endeavor to give some ieda of the
terrible scene that am about to record by
first relating my own sensations. l will
first, however, endeavor to describe the
relative locality of things, 30 that you may
more clearly understand what undertake
TO relate. In the first place, then, at tn g
main steamboat landing here, where the
mail boat lands, there is (what's left of it)
a subslsntial new pine wharf, third of a
mile or so in length, along the river.
Back on this, ten or twelve feet from the
edge of it, ran a mammoth new pine Gov
ernment warehouse, nearly the length of
the wharf, along the river, built in the
most substantial manner and which had
just made note of as being over quar-
ter of a mile in length, sixty feet wide, and
twenty-five teeet high, from floor to apex,
and capable Of standing the wear and tear
of war for at least a quarter of q century.
Back of this warehouse, from the river,
runs 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 ware
house, at the foot of the hill upon which
the town is situated, was new pine row,
in which the Post Office, Adams Express
office, and a QuarteTmaster's office were
kept, and few old buildings, occupied as
sutIer's establishments, &C., while upon the
hill, beside the city of tents, there were
scattered about a dozen or more substau-
tial frame residences, occupied now mostly
for various military purposes.
The mail boat has been landing about
the middle of this wharf and warehouse,
one of the middle sections of the ware
house being fitted up into offices and de-
voted to fine commissary stores and such
freight as is usually carried by the mail
boats, while adjoining this section of the
warehouse above is another section left as
an open court for the passage of horses,
passengers, &c., to and from the boats.
Just above this open section, and above
where the mail boats landed, opposite an
ammunition section of the warehouse, this
morning, lay, next to the wharf, the barge
Major Gen. Meade, loaded with condemned
stores (includtng condemned ammunition);
outside of her the ammunition barge j. T..
Kendrick, loaded with fixed ammunition
for distribution, and, outside of or near
her, the ]. G. Campbell, loaded with COM
missary stores, with other boats and yes.
sells close around and above and below.
After mailing my poor letter this morn
ing on the 10 O'Clock mail boat, and look
ing around the town an hour OF so, took
the IL 80 freight train, as is now my wont
for the front, where my headquarters and
horse are. We first went into the only
open car Immediately opposite the ammu-
nition section of the warehouse, but along
came one of the freight agents, and said he
was ordered to close that car (Which had
barrels of whisky in it) as we'll as the rest
We consequently had to get on top OF the
train, which we frequently do.
walked we'll back on the train (up riV-
erwards), so as to avoid the cinders and
smoke OF the locomotive in going out IA
precaution which experience had taught
mel, and sat down on the walk board along
the top of the car, and commenced perus'
| ing letter had just received from fra
ternal youngster in the Prairie State. l
had gotten about half through this when
the frst thing knew, did not know
much of Anything, A stunning and deaf
ening shock, as if of the terrific explosion
of monster shell near me, and the con'
cussion of the air, were bending me inyol'
UNFAIRLY over on the deck of the car, as q
plant bending before the storm, and il
seemed that the concussion would never
cease ringing and swRying until it bred
more and more danger.
My frst thought was that an ammunition
car bad exploded just ahead of the one
was on, and that it would be of little use tc
try to escape the storm that had gone NJ
! and would come down-that one was abou
as safe in one place as another. But tht
dread storm did commence coming down
and oh hsw it did rain and hail all thu
terrible instruments of war, We felt tina
we were in the hands of merciful PrOvi
dence, and that if our time had come, it hat
come, and there was no help for 1t. W
could only shelter our heads with our hat
and our hands, as We walked aft.
Il was not a railroad car, but the am
munition barge ]. E. Kendrtck, that ha