| From the Richmond Enquirer |
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| July 25, 1864 |
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| Burning of a Baggage Car on the {Richmond
&} Danville Railroad -- Great Destruction of Bank Deposits
and other Property |
| On Saturday morning last, about one
o'clock, as the train from Danville was passing Staunton river bridge,
in charge of conductor Wootten, it was discovered that the baggage car
was in flames and the train was at once stopped. An effort was made to
check the fire, but there fanning the flames had received from the
momentum of the train had ignited every part of the car, involving in
its destruction in immense amount of property. There were on board the
car the deposits of three banks of Staunton, removed to Danville for
safe keeping when the former place was threatened by Hunter. The
deposits were being returned to the institutions, which were the
Valley bank, the Central bank and a branch bank, name not know. The
specie alone, gold and silver, belonging to these banks, and on board
the ill fated car, amounted to upwards of three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. All of the precious metal that was recovered was
molten, and reduced from its original shape of coin to great lumps and
crude masses of gold and silver metal, which ran down through the bed
of the car in a golden and silvery stream upon the track, so
eye-witnesses affirm, so great was the heat engendered. What amount of
paper issue the banks had on board we could not ascertain. Mr.
Terrill, the Government messenger of the Southern Express Company, was
on board in the baggage car with Government funds in his charge to the
amount of twenty thousand dollars in gold and over a half million in
Confederate Treasure notes. As soon as the alarm of fire was given he
sprang for his box, and, throwing it from the car, followed with a
plunge. He lost nothing. The Express Company loses on freight and
packages about thirty-five thousand dollars. Some of the freight
packages which were only slightly damaged were received at the Express
office on Saturday. The railroad company sustains a loss of at least
one hundred thousand dollars, and perhaps double that sum on the
baggage of passengers lost, and for which the passengers hold checks. |
| As yet the origin of the fire is a
mystery. The bank deposits destroyed were being carried back to
Staunton preparatory to the resumption of business by the banks. It is
said there was a guard in the baggage car, and it is probable enough,
but it is very wonderful, how fire could have been communicated under
their very nose, and suffered to progress to the extent of enveloping
the entire car without the knowing it and raising an alarm. It is said
a spark from the locomotive fired the car, which would be plausible
enough if the other circumstances were in harmony with it, but they
are not. |
| There were several reports on the street
yesterday in solution of the affair. One was that the car was robbed
of its bank deposits, specie and notes, and the car then fired to
cover up the robbery in its ashes and ruins. We presume an official
enquiry will be made into the hidden circumstances of this most
mysterious crime, if crime it is. |
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