The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1865-04-22

|pAeO Oy 4o0 IOW c08EacteIU, 10 CltlZen
Uniformed me, and had been all the even
mot supposed by this man, who lived d.
Irsotly opposite, that the hre originated
from desi0n. hut the eject was all the
Same upon the drunken soldiery with
whom the city was now ewarming. TheI
|tdea was at once caught up that the ethyl
must be burned, and Ut it they went.
There were several good fire engines in |
|6rst commenced. Perhaps the firemen hadI
the impression that the city had been firedI
|by order, and it would be unsafe to inter
|fere. Soon the flames were seen burstingY
from q building on the main street, in the}
heart of the city. Thither we bent ourI
steps. The building was wrapped in al
sheet of fame, and several others were un-
der way. Still no engine was present. al
|stalwart negro, with several drunken SOL
|diers standing over him, was endeavoring|
Ito disable the hydrant at the corner of the|
sstreet. Soldiers were reeling through theI
street with bottles and even a-kettles|
filled with whisky, shouting for JEFF Davis|
Ito t'come and put out his fire" Officers
were soon on the ground, guards with fixed
|bayonets cleared the streets around the
burning buildings, the fire engines and|
hose were got out, and q large detail of
soldiers set to work at them. But it was|
evident their heart was not in the work.
and they performed very lazily, while|
some Of the bystanders whipped out their
knives and cut the hose!
Il was soon seen that the only hope lay|
lin clearing the city Of soldiers. A regf-I
|ment was marched down the street, and|
|all were ordered out of the city. The we'll
disposed, orderly ones left for their respect
i've camps, but not 80 with all. As soon as|
driven from one point they ran to another,
and, with their pockets filled with cap
|tured matches. they kindled fires in every
direction. Generals Sherman and Howard
were present, and exerted themselves toI
arrest the work Of destruction, but wereI
themselves burned out, and had to seek
|other quarters before the work of devasta-
'tion ended. Gen. Sherman had to ''evncu-|
ats'' about midnight. The conquersrvas|
|yanquished by migbtier.s ~|
But why dwell upon the terrible details.
The setting sun gilded beautiful city-theI
morning sun rose upon = smoking, smoul-|
ldsring mass Of ruins. saw whom lett
THE scene that the conaagration must be al
terrible one. in spite Of the best directed ef-|
|forts. But when entered the city next
morning the scene outstript imagination.|
From one end Of the city to the other there
walls and tall chimDeys that stood like
|resurrected ghosts amid graveyard of
buried hopes and joys. Columbia was al
ruin. The old State House, the Governor'e|
|house-in short, all the heart of the city
were no more. Two or three church edi.
|fces, the Lunatic Asylum, the College, audi
some fine private residences in retired por-|
|tions, escaped the general oonflagration.
The new State House, which il one oil
1.-THE finest State buildings I ever saw-aI
mass OF gray granite and white MARBLE
( was only in process Of erection, and having|
nothing oombustible about It, was unin-
|jured; but largo mass Of marble mate
rial, already sculptured and ready for put
Ting up, was utterly destroyed by the heat
Huge granite blocks of many tons weight
were Ahivered to pieces by the intenseI
heat.
Tho scene in the streets was pitiable.--|
Every few steps were piles of household
furniture, with men, women and children;
white and black, sitting upon them, and al
soldier guarding them. Near the CatholicI
|nunnery, which was consumed, sat groupl
|of nuns in their sable Of desolation, andI
lime engravings, chiefly Of Catholic design.
No one, as one Of them told me. had dis
|turbed them.
There was an arsenal and armory here.
and any amount Of guns. sabres, DO, just
These were destroyed by or
der on the 18th. On the 10th the magaxineI
was DESTROYED, it's contents being consigned
SSSN
engaged in this work. when, through care
|lessness box of fixed ammunition wasI
Exploded. Several men were killed, fifteenI
badly wounded and eight slightly. OthersI
were never heard Of, probably blown intoI
the river. Our division lost more men|
|by this explosion than in all the fights and
|skirmlshes together since We left Atlanta.
I'M. The 10th Iowa lost one man, q divis. /
lion teamster-Ooleman Wright, co. H.
The work Of railroad destruction hasl
been going on for several days, aud will
|be complete.
Before quitting Columbia, justice de-
|mands that should say something in re.
|lation to the disgsaoeftl scenes here enact
|up abont the snsdQiasns of Sherman and
|his army. AndlsV Vthe citizens themsslves
|blame their own Army more than ours-
Had there been no whisky in COlumbia
there had been no IRE. This then, plainly
saw. Indeed they anticipated t6A, and
wished to destroy all the liquor IN the city
prevented from doing so Sy their own ON
seoon1-lt was Ae,s that treason did its :.
frst wOtk-Aere it wss inauQpr rated. 1t WAS
mat ural, therefore. that the feeling Of ha-
tired in our army should be very intense. 5
When this feeling was inf1amed by WhiS-S
tho end could easily be deyined.
Third Ain the commencement Of the
work. soldier came rushing FROM q build-
ing (perhaps . printing ofRcs) with an
|a,mful Of miniature fags, printed on white
muslin, and fastened on little pine sticks,
|evidently used for procesaions. These
laass had agreen palmetto tree in tho CEN
|lre. aud the motto: ''Gbssfkey1 Rights at az
|haeeoris.s WAS witness to this scene,
|aud have one Of the flags. These were dis.
t.ibuted among the already iu1lamed sol
|dieYy. and tho 0y i0uedis&ely wsat up!|
|.D-n 'em they shall have Tie ''AasssedS''
|at least to-nighte'
sfsssaahsd: 'WAv ssss ~