| From Abingdon Virginian |
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| July 17, 1863 |
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| Explosion of a Locomotive Engine |
| On yesterday week the
locomotive Jeff. Davis, on the Richmond & Petersburg R. R.,
exploded about six miles from Richmond, killing five persons
instantly, and wounding about a dozen. The engineer and fireman were
both killed. The wounded were Confederate soldiers. The force of the
explosion threw the engine into the air twenty feet and pitched it
forward on the track about a hundred feet, throwing it completely
round. The cow-catcher was thrown about ninety feet, and buried two
feet deep in the earth. The billets of wood on the tender were thrown
in every direction, some of them striking the occupants of the cars
and producing serious, in some instances fatal wounds. The train had
on board about 100 lady refugees, who recently arrived by flag of
truce, none of whom were hurt, though the floor of one of the cars
which they occupied was smashed. The scene is represented to have been
fearful in the extreme. The cries of the wounded, mingled with the
shrieks of frightened ladies, (one of whom fainted) and every thing
was in almost inextricable confusion. |
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