(REBROADCAST of Episode 17) - The Internet Says it's True. The Black Tom Explosion (1916) From Redditor u/ finlay_mcwalter: A terrorist attack, a massive explosion, a huge pall of smoke hangs over New York harbor. Total damage was calculated at $45 million ($1.127 trillion in 2021), with damage to Lady Liberty costing $100,000 ($2.5 million in 2021) alone. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. Authorities successfully recovered shells lost in the harbor during the explosion. Watchmen in the Woolworth building in Lower Manhattan saw the blast, and thinking their time had come, got down on their knees and prayed, one newspaper reported. For more information, please see our Some guards on the island sent for the Jersey City Fire Department, but others fled as quickly as they could, and for good reason: Black Tom was a major munitions depot, with several large powder piers. That night, Johnson Barge No. "The Germans probably saw that as an act of war," Jackson said. This explosion was so large, it was heard all the way in Philadelphia. It blew the windows out of every high-rise building in Lower Manhattan. [31] Kristoff would later serve in the United States Army in World War I, but admitted to working for German agents (transporting suitcases) in 1915 and 1916 while the US was still neutral. And not so much as a fence guarded the two million pounds of munitions. An explosion on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor in the middle of the night could be heard from miles away, shattering glass windows in Manhattan and killing seven people. (165-WW-280A-050) On a chilly November night in 1915, a dockhand crept silently through the darkness near the Newport News, Virginia, shipyard as he approached dockside corrals filled with horses destined to board British Two hours later, at 2:08 in the morning, a huge explosion rocked the island. Explosion. Others attempted to fight the fires and eventually called the Jersey City Fire Department. Millions of Persons Heard and Felt Shock New York Times, July 31, 1916. JULY 30, 2016, marked the 100th anniversary of the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey. In June 1916, Witzke and Jahnke left San Francisco for New York City, where they connected with Kristoff. It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, when the sky suddenly exploded with an unnatural brilliance. Onlookers in Manhattan watched as munition shells rocketed across the water and exploded a mile from the fires on Black Tom Island. [36][37] Irish socialist and labour union leader James Larkin asserted that he had not participated in sabotage, but admitted to having encouraged work stoppages and strike actions in munitions factories, in an affidavit to McCloy in 1934. Already packed barges sat tied to piers, ready to cross the Atlantic. The immigrants waiting for processing on Ellis Island had to be evacuated. The Statue of Liberty was pelted with shrapnel. After the explosion, Black Tom Island sank into New York Harbor. Yes, the Bureau and other agencies doggedly pursued the case after the war until the saboteurs were identified and, ultimately, reparations were paid for German attacks against our neutral country. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? In the early 20th century, enemy attacks on American soil were so rare that many assumed the Black Tom explosion was an accident. And the reason it was closed? Others attempted to fight the fires. Von Rintelen is believed to have attacked 36 ships, destroying millions of dollars worth of cargo. The explosion also caused enormous physical damage to the surrounding area . Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Owen Fitzpatrick worked on nearby Ellis Island as a telephone operator. It was Black Tom, once a small island, that was the single most important assembly and shipping center in America for munitions and gunpowder being sent to the Allies, Witcover notes, and probably housed the most extensive arsenal anywhere outside the war zone itself.. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I.The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 ($500 million in 2023 dollars) worth of military goods. And that was partly true. [49] In an interview with Jules Witcover, McCloy noted that as assistant secretary of the navy under Wilson, Roosevelt "knew all about Black Tom." He was lucky to escape with his life. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. But the explosion caused major economic harm. Black Tom explosion. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. And the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which sustained much of the financial damage, knew who to blame: Germany. BONUS Episodes The force of the Black Tom explosion was equivalent to a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. [5] On January 26, 1875, an accidental explosion killed four. But the stock of US supplies and financial support were offered to the Allies, and Great Britain welcomed the help. Most of the arms, however, were going to the AlliesBritain, France and Russiabecause the British navy had blockaded Germany. The Black Tom event was the largest and the deadliest.We know all of this now, but without any sort of unified investigative body in 1916, this info took years to uncover. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. No one has been allowed inside the torch of Lady Liberty ever since the explosion in 1916. The blast was the equivalent of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. In early 1941, McCloy was named Assistant Secretary of War, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, helped craft the policy to intern more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans in remote facilities for much of the duration of World War II. Martin Casella: The title Black Tom Island comes from the name of a small island that used to be off the coast of New Jersey, about a half-mile from the Statue of Liberty. Pencil bombs were cigar-sized charges filled with acids placed in copper chambers; the acids would ultimately eat their way through the copper and mingle, creating intense, silent flames. Producer Credits The island was artificial, created by land fill around a rock of the same name, which had been a local hazard to navigation. The term "Black Tom" originally referred to an island in New York Harbor next to Liberty Island. It is now believed that they set timed fuses and then fled the area. On the night of July 29, 1916 German saboteurs snuck past the soldiers on watch at Bedloe's Island and proceeded to Black Tom. Category:Black Tom explosion. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. There were four confirmed fatalities in the explosion:[20][1] the barge captain,[21] Jersey City Police Department officer James F. Doherty,[22][21] Lehigh Valley Railroad chief of police Joseph Leyden,[23][24] and ten-week-old infant Arthur Tosson. Giveaways and swag Woodrow Wilson. It's as if they didn't know the event existed either. When the explosion came, it seemed as if it was from abovezumpf!like a Zeppelin bomb, he told a reporter from the New York Times. The several federal bureaus should be welded into one and that one should be eternally and comprehensively vigilant. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materiel from being used by the Allies in World War I. A dozen homes were destroyed and there were several injuries, though thankfully no casualties. Black Tom Island stored freight cars, barges, and warehouses full of explosives. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. Anton Dilger was an American who sympathized with Germany after studying there. But it took years for investigators to piece together the evidence against the Germans in the bombing. We strive for accuracy and fairness. [3] It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. Three men and an infant were killed by the sheer explosive energy, with over 100 more people wounded. Updated: September 1, 2018 | Original: July 29, 2016, Two years after the start of World War I, the greater New York region was a major hub of the American munitions industry, with 75 percent of all ammunition and armaments shipped from the United States to Europe went out within a radius of five miles of City Hall in Lower Manhattan, according to Sabotage at Black Tom by Jules Witcover. Senate Document 105-2", "The Kaiser Sows Destruction Central Intelligence Agency", "Frequently Asked Questions Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". After shrapnel from the blast hit the Statue of Liberty, its torch, which was once used as a viewpoint from which visitors could enjoy spectacular views of the city, became unsafe for visitors and guests are still barred from entering the torch to this day. Then, read about how flour caused the 1878 Washburn Mill explosion that killed four people in Minneapolis. 7. It had 417 cases of detonating fuses. It was 1939 and Germany had other plans happening at the time. US GovernmentThe next day, a sign warning of fire danger remained in the wreckage left by the explosion. At eight minutes past two o'clock on the morning of Sunday, July 30, 1916, a thundering explosion at the Black Tom munitions depot sent sleeping residents of New York City and surrounding areas tumbling from their beds. | Just after 2:00 am, slow burning pencil bombs planted by the German agents ignited an explosion so colossal it registered 5.5 on. Well, as reported in many of the newspapers in the aftermath, they thought it was negligence. | READ MORE. "Four shells of three-inch caliber fell on the gravel path in front of the main door and another shell passed through the roof of the coal bunker attached to the power house.". In the aftermath of the explosion, Americans tried to identify the saboteurs behind the devastating attack. There wasnt nearly enough water supply to the island to fight the fires. Barges sank, collapsed warehouses buried freight cars, and eventually the entire pier went under. S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Co.By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. Now nothing remains of the munitions depot save a plaque marking the explosion that rocked the nation. In Sabotage at Black Tom, Jules Witcover draws on his skills as an . Throughout the city, office buildings were missing windows. 26 - Apr. Seven people perished in the explosion, and over $20 million in damages resulted. How successful were they? One barge contained 50 tons of TNT, and was only moored at Black Tom Island to avoid a $25.00 charge. Smoke billowing from the Black Tom explosion, a German sabotage . [14] The explosion created a detonation wave that traveled at 24,000 feet per second (7,300m/s) with enough force to lift firefighters out of their boots and into the air. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. [15] The explosion was the equivalent of an earthquake measuring between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter scale[12] and was felt as far away as Philadelphia. As described by Witcover: The Black Tom promontory was a charred ruin; 13 huge warehouses were leveled and six piers destroyed, and fires continued to eat their way through the remains and consume hundreds of railroads cars and barges tied to the docks. The blast shattered windows across the harbor in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 ($500 million in 2023 dollars) worth of military goods. [11] Jersey City's Commissioner of Public Safety, Frank Hague, later said he had been told the barge was "tied up at Black Tom to avoid a twenty-five dollar charge". On Ellis Island, terrified immigrants were evacuated by ferry to the Battery. The FBI was in its infancy. A game of tag; see British Bulldog (game) Black Tom. He arrived in 1914 with a staff not of diplomats, but of intelligence operatives, and with millions of dollars earmarked to aid German war efforts by any means necessary. This was one of the major reasons that Germany was sending saboteurs to disrupt the supply chain from America. Even the heaviest plate-glass windows in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn shattered, and falling shards of glass preceded a mist of ash from the fire that followed the explosion. The Nazi party in control of the government refused to pay. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. The Black Tom Explosion. Three men were eventually recruited to carry out the operation: Michael Kristoff, a 23-year-old Austrian immigrant who served briefly in the U.S. Army; Kurt Jahnke, a naturalized American citizen and former U.S. Marine, who was recruited as an operative by the German Consul General in San Francisco; and Polish-born Lothar Witzke, a young German naval lieutenant who survived his ships sinking by the British Navy off the South American coast in late 1915. For reference, when the World Trade Centers North Tower collapsed in 2001, it registered a 2.3 on the Richter scale. Even the other agents from the German military didnt know about his secret orders. A torpedo hitting the magazine could have kicked the stored aluminum powder into the air. As far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, people felt the blast. On the evening of July 29, 1916, the three saboteurs easily infiltrated the lightly-guarded depot, with one entering on foot as the other two approached by rowboat. Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589Bonus episodes and content available athttp://Patreon.com/MichaelKentFor special discounts, visithttp://theinternetsaysitstrue.com/deals.
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