“Extract of a Letter...’
Date
1-22-1812
Newspaper
Virginia Herald
Page and Column
Page 3, Column 2
Newspaper Location
Fredricksburg, Virginia
Serial Number
1088
Abstract
Letter from someone to his father at Norfolk, Virginia describing that he had felt the December 16, 1811 earthquake on the river and promising that he would write from Natchez or New Orleans about it in more detail. Unknown about the second account.
Transcript
NORFOLK Jan. 15. Extract of a letter from a Gentleman who is descending the River Mississippi, to his father in this place, dated Chickasaw Agency, Dec. 27, 1811. "On the 13th we reached the confluence of Ohio and Mississippi; and on the 14th we entered the 'father of rivers'; on the 15th we passed New-Madrid; a small settlement on upper Louisianna, and at 2 o'clock on the morning of the 16th, we sensibly felt the jar of a distant convulsion, which we conjectured to be an Earthquake, caused by the eruption of some volcanic operations far to the West of the Valley of the Mississippi.-We hope in God that its seat was far from human habitation. We have frequently heard a distant noise like thunder since; the 16th was indeed a solemn, awful, and gloomy day; but now all seems quiet and serene; safety has returned out cheerfulness to us, and our hearts are warmed with grateful thanks to the supreme Ruler of Nature, for our preservation.-From Natchez or New-Orleans, I will write you a full and minute account of the convulsion."
Recommended Citation
"“Extract of a Letter...’" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 1055.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/1055
