Today an enormous explosion rocks City Point, Virginia, the headquarters of the Union Army during the current siege of Petersburg. Several large buildings, 180 feet of wharf, and some two million dollars worth of military munitions and supplies are destroyed, while more than forty workers lose their lives. Union General Ulysses S. Grant quarters…
Confederate cavalry forces, following the raid upon Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, are attempting to retreat to safety across the Potomac River, a dividing line between North and South. Today they engage Federal troops at Old Town, Maryland and, across the river, Spring Run, West Virginia. Confederate officials hope the raids in the North will create more unrest…
Sunday morning dawns on the smoldering ruins of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the town having been burned by Rebels the day previous. Some 550 structures are damaged or destroyed. Sunday services are canceled. While the destruction is great, the Confederate raiders, led by General John McCausland, left behind only one dead, an elderly African American. At least…