“Earthquakes”
Date
2-12-1812
Newspaper
Raleigh Star
Page and Column
Page 27, Column 5.
Newspaper Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
Serial Number
135
Abstract
Felt report for the February 7, 1812 earthquake as felt in Raleigh, North Carolina
Transcript
Earthquakes--Another shock of an Earthquake was felt in this city and various other places, about 4 o'clock on Friday morning last the 7th instant. A condensed account of what the papers from various parts of the United States have furnished respecting the different Earthquakes which have happened lately, follows. The shocks seem to have been more severe to the southward and westward, than to the northward. At Chilicothe, after the 16th of December, the motion of the earth continued several days. The Steam Boat on the Mississippi (which has reached Natchez) was much affected by the shock. It is said a high bluff of considerable extent had fallen into the river. At Natchez the shock was severe, but at New Orleans it was not felt, owing as the Editor of one of the papers supposes to the town being on an Island [erroneous supposition no doubt.] At Nashville, log houses were so violently shaken, that where the chimnies pierced the roof, they were generally broken off. Several feet square of land on Piney river, it was said, had sunk [those sinks are common in that country without earthquakes.] In Annapolis, the Steeple of the State-House is 250 feet high, and it vibrated at the top about 6 feet. The Captain of the guard at Charleston heard the Bell of St. Philips Church ring about 40 peals. He ran to the guard to prevent an alarm. The Centinel stationed in the Steeple of St. Michaels Church [a man is always there to observe fires] said the steeple unadulated he believed 5 feet, so as to throw him down. In some places the earthquake was accompanied with a noise, in others not. Many persons were affected with nauseau and giddiness. The motion of the earth gave the sensation of swinging, and was not jarring or tremulous. Its cause may exist in the Volcanoes of South America or in those discovered by Lewis and Clark, in their journey to the Pacific Ocean.
Recommended Citation
"“Earthquakes”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 133.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/133
