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Letter from Charles L. Powell (Richmond, Va.) to Family (Winchester, Va.)
14 February 1862
Powell Papers - 65 P876, Box III, Folder 1
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Richmond Va Feb 14/62
In answer to your letter which is the
next in order entitled to a reply. I have to inform
you all of the almost miraculous escape
which we have had from a fearful accident,
with frightful consequences to Sister Rebeccas friend poor Mr Hubard. On Thursday afternoon I was
sitting in the parlour reading the paper, having
left the others at their dessert in the basement
below when a terrific explosion was heard, fol
lowed in rapid succession by two others. We all
rushed to the street. Presently Mr Hubard passed
us blackened & bloody. I had heard some weeks
ago that he was perfecting an invention of some
thing like Greek fire which he hoped to sell to the
Government. A few days ago Frank told us it was
a fulminating powder & that he had a contract
with the Government for filling some shells. Fred
insisted upon it, that it involved great danger of
setting fire to our house & that Frank ought to go
to Mr Hubard & protest against his operations in the
small house very near to us, when he was doing the
work. I supposed that the quantity of fulminating
[2]
powder he would have on hand at a time would only
be a small quantity for scientific experiments & did
not share in Fred's alarm to any great degree. I thought the dan
ger was mainly, if not exclusively to Mr Hubard, & remarked
several evenings ago that he was a D'Alasco who wd
blow himself up yet. Frank who is very fond of
Mr Hubard, & who had been interested in his success refused
to urge him upon the subject, saying he had been assured
by Mr Hubard there was not the least danger about it – Im
mediately after Mr Hubard passed us, having taken out
Mr Franks we went to the house where he had been
at work at which several others had gathered, &
found it full of smoke & on fire in several places
where the bombs which had exploded had passed
through. The day was fortunately very calm, & we soon ex
tinguished the fire. We then proceeded to clear out
the papers & litter with which it was filled, lest some lurk
ing fire should renew the Conflagration. Papers &
other rubbish were lying charred over the floor.
In cleaning it out, Fred came to a box on top
of small cupboard, blackened papers were
around it & on the top shelf, outside & inside
the doors had been charred by the fire, and on
the lower shelf were from 15 to 20 loaded bombs.
In the adjoining room, the extremity of which is
a yard & a half or two yards from our house & the
[3]
door of which separating it from the one in which
the accident occurred had been blown out by the
explosion, were open papers of common powder
lying about, several boxes closed & several open
half barrels about half full of the coarse ex
plosive powder used for blasting rocks, enough if
the fire had reached it to have blown our house to atoms
& to have prostrated probably every thing else
within a hundred yards around us. The gathering of
all the material together, the venting of the house
& the carrying on such operations without a war
ning to us, without our knowledge of the extent of our
danger (lulling us into a false security) shows a blind
ness & recklessness amounting almost if not quite to
madness on the part of Mr Hubard. Poor fellow, the
penalty is very heavy upon him. The contents of
the shell which he was supposed to have been hand
ling, mutilated him terribly. He had had his thumb
& the ends of two fingers of the left hand & his
right leg more than half way up the thigh am
putated. He has stood the operation well - It shows
the pertinacity with which genius near allied to mad
ness clings to its projects, that while in this condi
tion he enquired of his son Willie what had been
done with what was in the house & when told
that it had been removed, said he wanted every
[4]
thing to remain just as it was when he left
it. His family an affectionate & interesting one is
proud of his genius is of course greatly distressed. He has two children a son about 17 a very ____
sensible and good youth about 17 & a bright
daughter about 15 years old. Their lamentations
were very touching. Mrs Hubard exclaimed that she
had lived in constant dread of such an occurrance.
"Oh why did he have any thing to do with it!" " Ah! I know
it was to put bread into our mouths." His little
daughter Ella said "If father had been a drunk
and or a lazy man I could see perhaps why this
should be so, but that such a man as father
should be made to suffer so, seems strange, but per
haps God meant it, to bring him closer to Him."
Saturday Morning. This is a crisis in Mr Hubards
Case. His system is very much prostated
by the shock & the operation. His head was not
wounded, but the missles from the exploded
shell passed so near to it, that they passed I think
through the rear of his hat which was all crushed
& torn away except the part immediately in front
- Saturday Night - Alas it seems poor Mr Hubard
has paid the penalty of his infatuation with
his life - The powers of his system were exhausted
beyond recovery. The stimulants which were
given him in large quantities through the day
could not produce a reaction - Life was gradually
& quietly exhausted & became wholly extinct to
night about 9 oclock. Your Aunts are over there doing
all they can to aid & comfort the family - who can not be com
forted - They of course can not recognize the fact that so fixed
was his infatuation that this calamity has probably prevented
a much more extensive one. I thank you for your
letter - Good night Yr very fond father
C. L Powell