City Point, Virginia
Wharves after the explosion of ordnance barges on August 4, 1864
The devastating blast at City Point destroyed General Ulysses S. Grant’s vital supply hub, raining shrapnel and ammunition over the base camp. While initially suspected to be a tragic storage accident, the explosion was actually the work of Confederate secret service agent John Maxwell. He had slipped past Union guards to plant a time-fused “horological torpedo” on a barge packed with gunpowder.
The explosion killed dozens of workers and narrowly missed General Grant himself, who was sitting outside his nearby headquarters. Despite the immense structural destruction to the wharves, the Union supply apparatus proved its resilience by rebuilding the entire port facility within days, ensuring the siege of Petersburg continued uninterrupted.
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