Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-04-10
'FHRRVAOUATION OF RICHMOND
Details CT an Eye-Witness-The Rteh'
mOnd Whlg's Account Of the EVaen.
alton The Great Fire-The Day
and Might OF DesOIatiOn.

AAAeeAio 5SA-AeAs Va oOAA OAAAbhi i've SA4 PAS-
prietor, before the days Of secession. 1t
has the following account Of the evacua-
ton, written by an eyewitness:
The evacuation of Richmond commenced
in earnest Sunday night, and closed on
Monday morning at daylight with ter
rife confagrstion, which was kindled by
the Confederate authorities wsntonly and
ruthlessly plying thetorch TO the Shockoe
warehouses and other buildings, in which
was largo quantity of tobacco. The fire
spread rapidly, and it was some time be-
fore the fire brigade could be gotten to
work. A fresh breeze was blowing from
the South, and the fire swept over great
space in an incredibly short space of time.
By noon, the flames had transferred into
desert waste that portion of the city
bounded between Seventh and Fifteenth
streets, from Main street 10 the river, COM
prisiDg the main business portion.
We can form no estimate, at this mo-
ment, of the number of houses destroyed,
but, public and private, they will certainly
number 500 or 800.
At present. we cannot do mlrs than
enumerste some of the most prominent
buildings destroyed. These include the
Bank Of Richmond, Traders Bank, Bank
of the Commonwealth, Farmers Bank-sll
the banking houses the American Hotel,
the Columbia Hotel, the Enquirer Build
ing on Twelfth street; the Dispatch Office
and Job Rooms corner Of Thirteenth and
Main streets all that block of buildings
known as Belvin's Block; the EcanaincT
office, engine and machinery rooms; the
Confederate Post-ofice Department Build
ing; the State Courthouse, a fine old
building, situated on Capitol Square, at its
Franklin street entrance, the Mechanics
Institute, vacated by the Confederate
States War Department, and all the build
ings on that square up to Eighth street and
back; the Confederate Arsensls and Lab
oratory, on Seventh street.
At sunrise on Monday morning, Rich.
mond presented spectacle that we hope
never 20 witness again. The last of the
Confederate officials had gone; the air was
lurid with the smoke and fame of hundreds
of houses, melting in sea of FIRE; the
streets were crowded with furniture and
every description of ware, which was dash
ed dowa and trsmpled in the mud, OF
burned up where 1t lay.
All the Government store houses were
thrown open, and what conld not be gotten
of by the Government was left to the
people, who everywhere ahead of the
flames, rushed in and secured immense
amounts of bacon, clothing, boots, &c.
Next to the river, the destruction of pro-
perty has been fearfully complete. The
Dsuville and Petersburg Railroad Depots
and the Butler building and shedding at
tached thereto, for the distance of half q
milo from the north side of Main street To
river and between Eighth and Fifteenth
streets, embracing upward of twenty
blocks, presents one waste Of smouldering
ruins, blsckened walls and broken chm.
neys
After the surrender of the city and ita
occupation by General Weilzsl, about 10
o'clock, vigorous efforts were SET on foot 10
stop the progress of the flames. The sol
diers reinforced the fire brigade and labor
ed nobly and with great success. The
flames east on Main street were checked
by the blowing up of the Traders Bank
About noon, the flames naturally died out
at various points, as material failed fol-
them to feed upon. But in particular To-
ilities, the destruction went on until TO-
ward or 4 o'clock, when the mastery Of
the flames was obtained and Richmond was
saved from utter desolstion.
We regret to learn that a serious loss OF
life resulted from the blowing up Of the
powder magazine, in the suburbs, early on
Monday morning. The shock was tremen-
duous, jsrring every house in the city, ex-
tinguishing the gas, and breaking great
amount of glass in dwellings. 1t is said
hat thirty or forty persons, residents of the
immediate vicinity of the magazine, were
either killed or wounded.
OF course, we can not be expected atthis
time, to enter into an estimate of the losses,
but they are immense, and will amount to
hundreds of millions of dollars. When it
was made known on Sundsymorning that
the evacuation of Richmond was fore
gone conclusion, the City Council held a
meeting, and in secret session passed an
order for the destruction of all the liquor in
the city. Accordingly, about the hour OF
midnight, the work commenced, under the
direction of committees of citizens in all
the wards. Hundreds of barrels Of liquor
we're rolled into the streets and the heads
knocked in. The gutter ran with liquor
fre.het, and the fumes filed and impreg-
mated the air. Fine cases of bottled liquors
were tossed into the street from third story
windows, and dashed into thousand pieces.
As the work progressed, some struggling
Confederate soldiers, retreating through the
city, managed to get hold of quantity of
liquor. From that moment Law and order
ceased to exist.
Chaos came, and pandemonium
resigned. Drunk with vi liquor, the SOL
diers, said to belong to Garry's cavalry,
rosmed from store to store on Main street,
followed by rough crowd, drunk SIS they
were, with the butts Of their muskets dashed
in the plate glass of the doors, and enter
ing, made wreck of everything with the
CELEBRITY of magic. ,EeWelry stores, cloth
ing stores, boot and hat stores, and confec-
tionary stores, we're objects OF special at
traction TO these pillsgers, who, be it re-
membered, were not Federal soldiers, but
Confederate strsgglers. The following are
some Of the stores thus robbed; Jennets,
jewelry store; Mitchell s. Tyler, jewelry
store; Lemons, trimming store; Anton itz,
confectionery store; Piggsnts, confeetion-
cry store, and numbers of others, all on
Main street. Whilethe confagration that
originated in Shockoe's warehouse was
raging, the Dibreuil warehouse, located on
Gary street and stored with tobacco, took
fire, and thehre swept over several squares.
The Henrico County Courthouse was
destroyed. The Clerks office, and Jail we're
saved. Smith tobacco factory, on Twen-
ty-frst street; Crews factory, on Gary and
Twnety-frst streets, were also burned, be-
sides many dwellings. About Daylight, on
Monday morning, the city was shaken to
its foundation by the explosion proceeding
from the blowing up of tae Confederate
Iron-elsds in the river. The Patrick Hem
ry was in flames on he Rockets, and the
Navy-yard, and ali the public buildings
therein situated, were in process of destruc-
tionl Several of the smaller vessels were
burned at the city whsrves. At O'Clock,
the evacuation having been completed as
far ss the Confederate army was concerned,