The Civil War officially ended on April 9, 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his command to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. On that same day, following an eight day siege, the Battle of Blakeley was fought near Mobile, Alabama. It was fought after the war had ended!

Mobile surrendered peacefully, thereby avoiding the destruction that other southern cities had experienced during the war. On April 12, 1865, for the first time, Union troops entered the city of Mobile unopposed.

On April 29, 1865, at the Magee Farm in Kushla, Alabama, Confederate General Richard Taylor met U.S. General E.R.S. Canby met to discuss the terms of surrender for the armies of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, the last contingent of the Confederate Army east of the Mississippi.

On May 4, 1865, beneath a large oak tree near Citronelle, Alabama the last of the Confederate troops east of the Mississippi laid down their weapons. The tree became known as Surrender Oak.

It is probable that some of the citizens of Mobile breathed a sigh of relief at the war's end, even though the outcome was unfavorable for the Confederacy. Mobile had built ships for the Confederacy and offered up her sons, fathers, brothers and friends to the conflict. Many left home to fight a war and were never heard from again. There had been so many battles fought, in places previously unknown to the average citizen, places with names like Shiloh, Chickamauga, Spotsylvania and Missionary Ridge. Many of their men died of disease, some while in northern prisoner of war camps. To many, the most recent memory of their soldier was his last goodbye.

The Union army declared martial law in Mobile. Among its other tasks, the occupying army established an ordinance depot at the corner of Commerce and Lipscomb Streets. Over a short period of time, the depot is said to have contained about 200 tons of explosive ammunition and gunpowder.

On the afternoon of May 25, 1865 a cloud of smoke was seen rising from the magazine. In just a few moments the devastation that Mobile had avoided throughout the war came; the ammunition magazine exploded!

A reporter with the Mobile Morning News was thrown out of his desk on the second floor of the newspaper office on Royal Street, down a flight of stairs and onto the street. He immediately rushed to the scene.

What is generally referred to as a single explosion was in fact a quick series of explosions, as artillery shells, torpedoes (underwater mines) and gunpowder exploded. When this occurred, human bodies, some body parts, horses and mules were blown skyward to rain down on the city. Carriages were overturned and horses fell dead on the streets. Shrapnel filled the air along with wood fragments, bricks and glass from windows. An estimated 300 people were killed by the explosion and the falling debris.

Moored in the Mobile River was the steamer, U.S.S. Colonel Cowles, commanded by a Captain Tucker. Captain Tucker was badly injured and his cabin boy and firemen were never seen again. The ship had received serious damage and later caught fire, settling to the bottom of the Mobile River.

A schooner, the Kate Dale was moored nearby. It was entirely destroyed by the blast, losing two of its crewmembers and an unknown number of passengers who were aboard for a voyage to New York.

The downtown area of Mobile was charred wreckage with countless buildings destroyed.

Upon hearing the explosion, U.S. Army Major General Granger and Colonel Shipley rushed to the scene to take control of the situation. Immediately General Granger sent a messenger to Brigadier General Dennis, requesting that all available military personnel in the vicinity rush to the site to assist in the grisly detail of finding and assisting survivors and removing the dead who were, all too often, burned or mutilated beyond recognition. Throughout the ordeal there were countless acts of courage witnessed as military personnel and civilians put aside considerations for their own personal safety to rescue the injured, frequently entering burning buildings that were on the brink of collapse.

Much flaming debris had been thrown skyward and upon falling back to earth, started fires in many spots in the northern half of the city. Before the fire died, the entire northern half of Mobile was consumed and lay in a smoking, smoldering ruin.

The story was headline news for days across the nation. Many northern newspapers stated that the explosion had been caused by vengeful former Confederate soldiers. However, that was never proven and was probably not true. It was quite improbable that anyone would bring such massive destruction and death to his own people. Over time, cooler heads prevailed. The generally accepted belief was that someone had accidentally started a fire within the depot or had in some other manner accidentally detonated a shell.