| From the Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N. C.) |
| |
| April 18, 1864 |
| |
| Locomotive Explosion and Loss of Life |
| On Friday morning, about twenty minutes
past five o'clock, the citizens of Petersburg were aroused by a
violent concussion, which shook the houses in all parts of the city,
like an earthquake, and awakened the sleeping residents. Various were
the surmises ass to the cause; some thought of Yankee gunboats, others
of artillery firing, but the intelligence soon spread that a locomotive
on the Richmond road {Richmond & Petersburg
RR} had exploded and killed all hands in charge of it. Upon
this intelligence reaching the depot, the agent, Mr. Butts, secured
the attendance of Drs. May and Walsh, and dispatched them on a train
to the scene of the disaster, where they arrived before 7 o'clock, A.
M. They found four white men killed dead, and a negro man with his
skull severely fractured. |
| Petersburg Register |
|