Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 538 



to the barracks. Shortly after they got upon the bridge, the men, 

 who were marching four abreast, found that the structure vibrated 

 in unison with the measured step with which they marched ; and 

 as this vibration was by no means unpleasant, they were inclined to 

 humour it by the manner in which they stepped. As they pro- 

 ceeded, and as a greater number of them got upon the bridge, the 

 vibration went on increasing until the head of the column had nearly 

 reached the Pendleton side of the river. They were then alarmed 

 by a loud sound something resembling an irregular discharge of 

 fire-arms ; and immediately one of the iron pillars supporting the 

 suspension chains, viz. that which was to the right of the soldiers, 

 and on the Broughton side of the river, fell towards the bridge, 

 carrying with it a large stone from the pier, to which it had been 

 bolted. Of course that corner of the bridge, having lost the sup- 

 port of the pillar, immediately fell to the bottom of the river, a de- 

 scent of about sixteen or eighteen feet; and from the great inclina- 

 tion thereby given to the road-way, nearly the whole of the soldiers 

 who were upon it were precipitated into the river, where a scene of 

 great confusion was exhibited. Such of them as were unhurt got 

 out as well as they could, some by scrambling up the inclined plane 

 which the bridge presented, and others by wading out on the 

 Broughton side; but a number were too much hurt to extricate 

 themselves without assistance, which was immediately rendered by 

 their comrades. 



The company consisted of seventy-four officers and privates ; and 

 of these about sixty, including one officer (Lieut. Fitzgerald), were 

 upon the bridge at the time ; the remainder had not reached the 

 bridge, and were left standing on the Broughton side, when the bridge 

 gave way. Lieut. Fitzgerald being on a line with the leading file, 

 had nearly reached the Pendleton side, where of course the incli- 

 nation of the road-way was not so great as it was nearer the Brough- 

 ton side. He, and a few of the men near him, did not fall from the 

 bridge, being merely thrown down on the road-way, but upwards 

 of forty men were either precipitated into the water, or thrown 

 with great violence against the side chains of the bridge. Of these, 

 more than twenty received injuries of different kinds, six were so 

 much hurt that it was found necessary to procure two carts (some 

 of the men being taken out on one side and some on the other), for 

 the purpose of sending them to the barracks. Four of them, whose 

 injuries are of a very serious nature, still (April 16th) remain in the 

 hospital. 



As the bridge, in the inclined position into which it was thrown 

 by the accident, blocked up a considerable portion of the water-way 

 of the river, and it would inevitably have been carried away in case 

 of a flood, a number of men were promptly set to work to dis- 

 mantle the flooring at the end which had fallen down, which has 

 been completely effected ; and preparations are now making to re- 

 pair the injury which the structure has received from this alarming 

 accident, and at the same time to remedy some defects in its con- 

 struction, by which the risk of future accidents will be avoided. 



N. S. Vol. 9. No. 53. May 1831. 3D Causes 



