[32] See Memoir of General Macomb, _ante_.
[33] Some of the escapes made on this occasion were
rather amusing;--one officer saved himself by dodging
under a gun, and another by springing into an
empty pork barrel. It was for a long time supposed
that the explosion was the work of design, and
the circumstance of finding the lighted trains at
Fort George, (See Memoir of General Scott.) in May
following, tended to strengthen this impression.
General Sheaffe, however, repelled the dishonorable
imputation, and declared that it was wholly
accidental. The most critical and reliable biographer
of General Pike, (See Memoir of Pike, by Colonel
Whiting, in Sparks’ American Biography.) adopts the
opinion that it was a mere accident, and could not
have been designed.