At around four in the morning, a fire was discovered in a tailor's shop on Front Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Despite efforts to fight the fire's spread, in temperatures well below freezing, the blaze eventually destroyed around a hundred stores and homes, largely in an area from Front Street to the town's wharves, where two ships were also burned. The spread was only halted by blowing up buildings and a shift in the wind. No serious injuries were reported. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"The Recent Fearful Conflagration at Gloucester, Mass.," Frank's Leslie's Illustrated, March 5, 1864, p. 369.