Explosion in Bainbridge
Antimasonic Telegraph, July 1, 1829
An accident of a serious nature occurred in the village of Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY], in this county, on the first inst. the particulars of which, we learn by a letter to the editors of the Norwich Journal, who have favored us with a perusal, are as follows: The inhabitants were discharging a field piece, preparatory to the celebration on the 4th; and in forcing down a cartridge without the necessary precaution of properly cleansing the cannon after a previous discharge, it exploded. Dr. Wm. Knapp, Jr., and Mr. Elisha Sharpe lost each an arm, and a third person was dangerously wounded by the explosion. Amputation was necessary in the cases of the two first named gentlemen. The letter adds, "we are happy to learn they are doing well."
Catskill NY Reporter
July 1829
Dr. William Knapp and a Mr. Sharpe each lost an arm, at Bainbridge, Chenango co. on the 1st inst. by an explosion, while ramming down the cartridge in a cannon. It has been fired three times, and sufficient care had not been taken in swabbing it. A Mr. Reece was dangerously wounded in the abdomen, by a splinter from the ramrod. It was a new cannon, which they were trying previous to its use on the 4th. The Oxford Republican says that but a moment before the explosion, Dr. Knapp placed himself in front of the cannon with the ramrod against his breast, and in this position attempted to force down the cartridge, which went hard, when his little son took him by the skirt of his coat and pulled him away; thus was his life providentially saved although he parted with a limb.
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