From the Richmond Dispatch, 7/4/1861, p. 2

The Recent Fire at the Penitentiary. - The prison proper escaped entirely. The spinning and weaving departments, the axe and a portion of the blacksmith shop, were destroyed. The wood, paint and all other shops in the western portion of the building were saved. A large quantity of raw material, and goods of various kinds were also saved. It is said that the actual loss of property will not exceed $15,000. The looms in the weaving department, and much other valuable machinery, cannot be replaced at this time in consequence of the Lincoln blockade. Perhaps the State may be enabled to purchase similar articles from some cotton factory in the Southern Confederacy. Every convict thrown out of employment by the disaster will be put actively to work in a few days.

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