| From the Richmond Dispatch |
| |
| January 23, 1865 |
| |
| The flood at the South |
| The recent heavy flood
experienced in Virginia
and North Carolina
seems to have been general throughout the confederacy. The Charleston
Mercury says: |
| Between this city and Columbia
the long trestlework on the
South Carolina
railroad, at Kingsville, has been washed away. |
| At Columbia, there was a great "upheaval of the waters," and the
Congaree river was higher than it has been since 1852, causing great
destruction to mills, plantations, etc. |
| At Chester, on the Columbia
& Charlotte {Charlotte & South Carolina}
railroad, heavy losses
were sustained and the track greatly damaged. |
| On the North Carolina railroad,
between Charlotte and Greenbrier two bridges are gone. |
| In Georgia, the waters have been very high. The Augusta Constitutionalist says: |
| Up to Tuesday evening the Savannah river
had been rising with some rapidity, but no one anticipated the angry,
turbulent tide that was presented on Wednesday morning. The recent
rains had been in no wise heavy, and it was not supposed that the
snows in the mountains had melted to such an extent as to produce a
freshet. Yet, during Tuesday night the river rose very quickly, and by
morning had passed its banks, sweeping everything before it. The
suburbs to the west of the city were inundated, and the eager watchers
were hurrying through the streets. By noon every avenue was a
miniature river, the current dashing along at a cataract speed. |
| All business was necessarily
suspended, save that incident to the protection and preservation of
property. Pedestrians found themselves water-bound upon all sides.
Skiffs, canoes, and other craft were brought into requisition, and
vessels of all sorts were impressed to transport passengers,
furniture, baggage, etc. Ladies who had ventured out were caught by
the rapidly-swelling waters, and forced to seek wagons and drays for
safe carriage home. The only lucky fellows were the wandering
cavalrymen, who, fearless for the nonce of provost guards, plunged
madly and furiously about upon their horses. By nightfall, Broad street, from one extremity to the other, was a billowy sea, traversed only
by boats. Green street
was a rushing torrent; the cross streets were all filled to the brim,
while to the south there was one vast watery expanse, as weary a waste
as ever eye rested upon. There was no egress or ingress to or from the
city. Every road was submerged. The canal bridges were, in many cases,
swept away. The railroad depots {of
the Georgia RR and the Augusta & Savannah RR} were
inaccessible, and all travel stopped. The factories had to cease work.
The gas works were rendered useless, and the hydrants choked up
from a surplusage of water. Pumps and wells were overflown, and we
might as well have been in the midst of the great Sahara, famishing for aqua pura, as here in the midst of the flood. |
| The only places in the whole
city not reached by the water were the sidewalks on Broad street, extending from
Jackson
to Washington, and these were only comparatively dry. At the Planters' Hotel the
water was from three to five feet deep, and that popular caravansary
was for the day approachable only by navigators. The Globe, Southern
States and Augusta
Hotels
escaped with cellars full of water. |
| The water, when at its height,
was up to the track on the bridge, and the greatest depth reached was
thirty-five feet. |
| We have been unable to
ascertain that any lives were lost. It was reported several parties
had been drowned in Hamburg, but we could trace the rumor to no reliable source. |
| *** |
|
The tracks of all the railroads are more or less damaged,
and under water to such an extent as to prevent travel into the city
for a day or two. |
|