Richmond Evacuation Fire

After midnight on 3 April 1865, Confederate soldiers set fire to several tobacco warehouses nearby on orders from Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, as the army evacuated Richmond and marched west. Two distinct fires spread rapidly throughout the commercial and industrial sections of the capital. The core of the burned-out area, some 35 blocks, extended from the James River in some areas as far north as Capitol Square, and from 4th St. east to 16th St. Frightened citizens huddled in Capitol Square while looters rampaged and firefighters battled the fires. The Union army, which occupied the city early on 3 April, finally brought the fires under control in the afternoon.