The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-07-06

government officials AID tn
troops began ut dark on the
I'd Of April. 1ScJ The FeIe.ql armies
had invested Petersburg except w,oca
the AppomattoX river protected it o.
the northwestern edge. Grants lines
rested upon the river below and allow
the town. Lees first step after er3.-
uation had been decided upon was .h.
destruction of Confederate stores,
boats, railroads. rolling stock ana
bridges and public property generally.
The soldiers on the very front Of the
Federal line could hear the rumble Of
wheels on the bridges and reported t.
headquarters that the sounds indicated
evacuation.
Some time after mdui@ht-that is.
early on the 3d--the magazine at Fort
Drury, on James river, little more than
halfway to Richmond, blew up, Egh--
ing the whole heavens. It was plainly
visible on the Petersburg lines, and. a.
it was followed by other explosions.
that of war vessels and bridges, and By
fires nearer to Petersburg, it became
very plain that a general destruction
was going on along Lees twenty miles
Of defenses. However, the Confederate
pickets We're out in full force, and cy-
cry attempt Of the Federal pickets to
advance was met by good volleys Of
musketry. At daylight on the Sd the
order was given on the Ninth c0r.s
line for pickets to advance to the enc
my's main trenches. They did so ana
found the batteries empty and The
camps deserted and denuled Of evegE-
thing valuable Heavy guns had no.
been removed. \ few Confederate
skirmishors were Overtakcn, and it was
learned that the bulk Of the army had
been gone for hours, the trains and ar
tillery having begun to move at s
O'clock p. N. on the Cd, the infantry fol
lowing.
The brigade of General Ralph Ely
Second brigade, First division. Ninth
corps-moved rapidly toward Peters
burg, on the river road. and received
the surrender about 80 a. N. The
First division was promptly assembled
and marched in by the regular roads.
President Lincoln reached Petersburg
about noon. Grant was already there,
and there was hearty rejoicing among
SOldiery and citizens because the tcdi-
GUS siege was over. News came from
Richmond that that stronghold had
been entered by Federal troops at 8
o'clock in the morning. The Army Of
the Potomac rested around Petersburg
and General Grant went out on the
South Side railroad, where a strong
Federal column under General Ord
was moving on line parallel to that
taken by Lee, the AppomattoX river be
tween their marching columns.
The experiences at Petersburg had
been repeated at Richmond with the
exception of the assaults. The Federal
army confronting the defenses of Rich
mond consisted of two divisions of the
Twenty-fifth corps of the Army of the
James. General Godfrey WeitZel com
manded the corps and was temporarily
in command in front of Richmond. He
had held his troops in readiness to as
sault for some days, but the success of
the turning movement had rendered
that unnecessary. Inside of Richmond
confusion reigned all day on the I'd
Sunday, the day of the successful
Federal assaults at Petersburg. Dis
patches from Lee announcing his in
ability to hold his ground at Peters
burg had caused the officers of the Con-
federate government to begin prepara-
tons for a hasty flight and as they did
not wait for night to cover their move
ments the people soon learned the truth
and acted accordingly.
General Il. S. Ewell commanded a
few local Confederate troops in the de-
lenses, and General G. w. c. Lee, son
of General Robert Edward Lee, had
division in the Confederate works at
Chapin's bluff, on James river, seven
miles below the city. These troops
were all put under orders ready to
move. The men who had been promi-
nent in secession affairs, the officials
and pronounced disunionists betrayed
their anxiety to be away when the
Yankee troops should come in. Davis
left the city at o'clock, accompanied
by his cabinet, and the archives and
treasure, a sum unknown, but which
included. $215,000 of bank gold were
shipped in cars. Darkness brought
about a reign of terror. The stores Of
ammunition were exploded by military
order, and the uncomfortable populace
took this for a signal for destruction.
Large warehouses containing tobacco.
bacon and other combustibles We're
fired by accident or design, and the
flames spread to other buildings. Peo-
pie gathered few household goods
and rushed to the squares and other
open places
. The lower classes broke open liquor
stores and fed their frenzy by the free
use of stimulants. Pillage and out
rage were added to fire and terror.
Amid it all the explosives contained
in the magazines, which were hoisted
into the air, had their fuses ignited and
flew in all directions, hurting down
fragments of iron upon the crowds
and sending fire Unfortunately upon
dwelling, store and sanctuary. The
Confederate troops were all otherwise
Engaged, and the police were powerless.