The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1866-06-07


veyance' Suddenly, as If by magic,
the streets became filled with men,
walking as though for a wager, and
luggage of every description. All over
the city 1t was the same-wagons,
trunks, band boxes. and their owners,
a mass Of hurrying fugitives, filing
the streets. The banks were all open,
and depositors were as busy as bees
removing their specie deposits, and
the directors were equally active in
getting out their bullion. Hundreds
of thousands Of dollars Of paper mo.
hey was destroyed both State and
Confederate. Night came, and with
it came confusion worse confoundedI
There was no sleep for human eyes in
Richmond that night. p@o a,
, The City Council had met in the ev-
eping, and resolved to destroy all the
liquor in the city, to avoid the disor.
der consequent on the temptation TO
drink at such time About tho hour
of midnight the work commenced, un.
EderIthe direction of committees of cit.
izens in all the wards. Hundreds of
barrels of liquor were rolled into the
streets and the heads knocked in
Tho cutters ran with, a liquor freshet, :,
and the fumes filed and impregnated
the air. Gases of fine bottled LIQUORS
were tossed into the street from third
story windows, and wrecked into
thousand pieces. AS the work pro-
crossed, some struggling soldiers, re-
treating though the city, managed to
Eget hold Of a qdantity of the liquor.-
From that moment law and order
ceased to exist. Many of the stores
were pillaged. and the sidewalks were
lencumbered with broken glass, where
the thieves had smashed the windows
/ in their reckless haste TO get their
hands on the plunder within. The air
was filed with the wild cries of dis
tress or the yells of rowing pillagers.
But more terrible element was to
appear upon the scene. An order had
been issued from Gen. EwelI's head
quarters to fire the four principal to-
bacco warehouses Of the city-name.
| ly, the public warehouse, situated at
the hca of the basin, near the Peters.
burg Rail Road depot; Shockoc ware
house, situated near tho centre OF the
city, side by side with the Gallego
-four mills; Mayo's warehouse, and
Dibrell's warehouse, on Cary street, a
square below the Libby prison.
Late in the night, May Mayo had
dispatched, by committee Of citizens,
a remohstrance against this reckless
military order, which plainly. put in
Jeopardy the whole business portion OF
Richmond. 1t was not. needed. No
thing was left for the citizens but TO
submit to the destruction oftheir prop.
erty. The warehouses were fred
The rams in the James River were
blown up. The Richmond, the Virgi.
, MIA, and another one, were all blown
Ito the four winds of heaven The Pat:
rick Henry, a receiving ship, was scut-
j tied. Such shipping, very littlo in
amount, as was lying at tho Richmond
Iwharves was also fired, save the flag
Iot,trnce steamer Allison, orc,-
The bridges leading out Of the city
namely, the Danville Railroad bridge,
tho Petersburg Railroad bridge
EMayo's bridge, leading to Manchester
and the opposite side of the James,
were also fired, and were soon wrap
ped in flames, -
Morning broke upon scene snch as
those who witnessed it can never for
get. The roar of an immense confa.
grafton sounded in the cars; tongues
of flame leaped from street to street;
and in this balcful glare were to be
seen, as Of fdemons, the figures Of busy
plunderers, moving, pushing, rioting,
| through the black smoke and into the
open street, bearing away every, con-
ceivable sort Of plunder.
| The scene at the commissary depot,
at the head ofthe dock, beggared des.
cMption. Hundreds of government
wagons were loaded with bacon, floor
and whiskyj and driven off in hot
haste 10 join the retreating army
Thronged about the depot were hun
dreds Of. men, women and children,
black and white, provided with capa-
tious bags baskets, tubs, btubete, TIN
pans and aprons; cursingr pushing and
crowding, awaiting the throwing open
of the doors, and the order forcacfi) TO
: help himself. About sunriss the doors
E we're opened to the populace, and II
rush that almost seemed 10 carry the
building off its foundation was made,
and handreds of thousands of pounds
Of bacon, -four, ETC., were, soon swept
away by clamorous crowd, =.
Meanwhile, about midnight, The enc
my's camps were startled into lifo a
gain, after the short quiet, by the ex-
plosiohs.in Richmond. ~,
To the Yankee Genera! Weitzel's
brain the full meaning of the event
, came home at once, and he did moi
f need the confirmatory lurid light. hc
. saw hanging over the Confederate cap
ital to tell him that the hour had come
. His orders had been to push on when
ever satisfied Of his ability to enter the
Y city s9 has liSy 9riyq ~ ~ :,
al Day had no sooner broke than Welt
. eel dispatched MajorA. II, Stevens, O
Q the, Fonrth M assaohnsetts cavalry, ant
D Major ,E@ g. Graves. Of his staff, viii
! forty cavalry, to Vestigate the colntdiiI olntii
] Etion ofaffairs. The troops rode steadi
ly into Richmond. On Q trot they
q proceeded 10 the Capitol and ereepinf
! to its summit, planted the stars ant . p