lelliott19
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On Monday, July 13, 1863, the boiler of the railroad steam engine "Jefferson Davis" exploded, killing the engineer, Hugh Burns, and fireman, James Trent, along with at least one soldier and three paroled Confederate sailors of the Atlanta, who had recently arrived at Petersburg under flag of truce. Five or six other passengers were seriously wounded by the explosion.
@DaveBrt do you have a picture of the locomotive "Jefferson Davis"?
...The explosion was as terrible as that of a 32-pounder, and such was its force that the engine was thrown corsswise off the track, and the pilot or cow-catcher hurled off to a distance of fifty feet up an embankment. Two of the box-cars next to the engine were demolished by the explosion and the momentum of the train, and here the killing and maiming beyond that of the engineer and fireman occurred, as the two cars were filled with sailors and soldiers. One soldier sitting upon the top of the foremost car, was struck in the head by a billet of wood and instantly killed; another was mortally injured. A large number of ladies and children were on the train, but as they were in the rear cars, none were injured. -- Richmond Examiner
@DaveBrt do you have a picture of the locomotive "Jefferson Davis"?