Tuesday [June] 23 [1863]

Rifle 32 pdr opens on the city
from the peninsula this morning
and the huge shell comes tearing
and crashing through the houses
with utter disregard of all
decency, courtesy; and ignoring
as absurd any discrimination
of quarters or Hdqrs.

The Mortars became
reanimate after several days
silence; and again annoy us
more by the great noise of the
explosion of their shells
than fear of their effect on
life and property. The de-
stuction to the latter has
been terrible, but many of
us can look on that with
a calm and dis-interested
eye; one portion of the city-
that most closely built -
where the range of the mor-
tars has continued longest,
is terribly demolished and
presents a sad scene of destruction-
scarcely a single exception
of a house not struck-
most of them being so torn
as will render them useless
and beyond repair. The
shells do not utterly ruin
them when they enter &
fail to burst, but when
they do explode the house
is demolished and often
torn asunder - one of brick
and pretty strong and sub-
stantially built, I noticed
that had two sides blown
out and the floor knocked
to pieces -