So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. [16] The outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall was cracked and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. Rail Heads Face Arrest in Pier Blast at N.Y. Chicago Daily Tribune, August 1, 1916. Explosion at Black Tom: A forgotten history of sabotage during WWI A plaque in Liberty State Park calls the Black Tom explosion one of the worst acts of terrorism in . "[49] The explosion also played a role in how future presidents responded to military conflict. It didnt kill anyone, but the saboteurs plot was to send a message for America to stay out of war profiteering. It is not known how many died. After years of deliberating, the German-American Mixed Claims Commission ultimately ordered Germany to pay $50 million in reparations. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: By 1916, World War I had already been raging for two years. Statue of Liberty Damaged by Giant Ammunition Explosions Washington Post, July 31, 1916. [citation needed], It is likely[according to whom?] [49] In an interview with Jules Witcover, McCloy noted that as assistant secretary of the navy under Wilson, Roosevelt "knew all about Black Tom." Black Tom was literally a ticking time bomb. The Mare Island Explosion: A Defining Moment In Bay Area History The Dark Invader and the Black Tom Explosion - weirdnj.com [8] Between 1905 and 1916, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which owned the island and causeway, expanded the island with land fill, and the entire area was annexed by Jersey City. It was heard and felt as far away as Philadelphia, and in Baltimore, people spilled from their homes, fearing an earthquake was underway. Black Tom Island is now part of Liberty State Park. 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. 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. Flickr/Wavian. Many Explosions Since War Began New York Times, July 31, 1916. The Forgotten Attack On NYC - Gotham Gazette [25] Immigrants being processed at Ellis Island had to be evacuated to Lower Manhattan. Remember, this was an island with a history of being filled with rubbish and explosives with little protection from accidents and without the proper safety measures. Today, the Black Tom site is part of New Jerseys Liberty State Park. Black Tom Explosion: The Bombing That Rocked New York In 1916 Aluminum powder explosion, advanced by Patrick O'Sullivan. One of the American MCC investigators was Harvard Law School graduate John McCloy, a 12-year staff member for the Commission. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. The aftermath of the Black Tom explosion, an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents that took place on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City . According to an article at Firefighter Nation, the blast wave traveled at 24,000 feet per second and tore firefighters from their boots, throwing them in the air. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Privacy Policy. Events From US History Not Taught In School - Ranker And not so much as a fence guarded the two million pounds of munitions. The crater left by the blast measured 175 feet by 375 feet. INTEL - Black Tom Island Explodes There is a Youtube channel called "The Great War" that covers WW1 week by week and not once do they mention the Black Tom Explosion. ", "Men of Secrets: Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill", "Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. After escaping from internment, Witzke traveled to San Francisco, where he met with the German Consul General there and was paired to work with Jahnke. [10] All were waiting to be shipped to Russia. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. An explosion on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor in the middle of the night could be heard from miles away,. Nearby Ellis island was evacuated. Despite Americas claim of neutrality in World War I, it was no secret that the United States was selling massive quantities of munitions to the British. 26 - Apr. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. Discover our mission: IC principles, history, and success stories, Check out Bin Laden's Bookshelf, IC on the Record, and declassified documents, Read the latest news about and from the IC, Learn about how we work, IC members, and oversight. Throughout the city, office buildings were missing windows. [17][18], Property damage from the attack was estimated at $20,000,000 (equivalent to about $498,000,000 in 2021). As far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, people felt the blast. Employees on the island started frantically trying to fight the fires, and eventually called the Jersey City Fire Department for help. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. Woolworth Tower Watchmen Pray Chicago Daily Tribune, July 31, 1916. On July 30, 1916 the Black Tom munitions depot exploded rocking New York Harbor and sending residents tumbling from their beds. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images. As for the other boats Raceta had seen earlier in the night, he said, "It looked as if they all went up in the air. And they couldnt imagine that Germans would have done this. One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. For reference, when the World Trade Centers North Tower collapsed in 2001, it registered a 2.3 on the Richter scale. Shrapnel pierced the Statue of Liberty (the arm of the Statue was closed to visitors after this). Library of Congress photograph. There wasnt nearly enough water supply to the island to fight the fires. The FBI was in its infancy. So the men that were initially arrested were freed. Stained-glass windows from inside Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Jersey City, NJ. At 2:08 a.m., an explosion ripped through the night. Two million tons of war materials packed into train cars had blown up in the Black Tom railroad yard on what is now a part of Liberty State Park. At 2:08 a.m on July 16, 1916, a munitions depot on Black Tom Island, in the Hudson River just off Jersey City, exploded. German sabotage actually damaged the Statue of Liberty during WWI So was Cornelius Leyden, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Chief of Police. the New York City region in the early hours of the morning of July 30, 1916. Authorities assess the damage after the Black Tom explosion, which left the munitions depot in tatters. Woodrow Wilson. Police officers stood outside stores with broken windows following the explosion to prevent looting. On July 30, 1916, a massive explosion shakes the harbor, a blast so tremendous it's felt in Philadelphia and Baltimore. It was named allegedly after a freed slave named Tom who used to fish on the island. Giveaways and swag The Kingsland Factory Explosion (and the switchboard operator who saved Three years after the war ended, the United States and Germany formed the quasi-government Mixed Claims Commission (MCC) to investigate claims and negotiate financial compensation for wartime damages to commercial and private property. Martin Casella's Explosive "Black Tom Island" Asks, "What Creates a Why the explosion? The explosion,. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This disambiguation . 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. But it was too late. The National Park Service's Statue of Liberty website cites the Black Tom explosion as the reason the torch is closed off, though it is unclear why, a century later, guests are still not allowed inside. America was full of hard-working Germans looking for the American dream and with all of the safety issues on Black Tom Island, its like they werent even looking for a saboteur.But the truth was much darker. Smoke billowing from the Black Tom explosion, a German sabotage . Others attempted to fight the fires. Just after 2:00 am, slow burning pencil bombs planted by the German agents ignited an explosion so colossal it registered 5.5 on. They had been the victim of whats thought to be one of the first foreign terrorist attacks in the United States. Around 2:08 a.m. the munitions started to explode. [52], A stained-glass window at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic church memorialized the victims of the attack.[53]. With generous cash bribes, Von Rintelen had little problem gaining access to pierswhich is how Michael Kristoff, a Slovak immigrant living in Bayonne, New Jersey, is believed to have gotten to the Black Tom munitions depot in July of 1916. The worst disasters in N.J. history - nj.com But in the aftermath of the catastrophic explosions on Black Tom Island, the agencies investigating sort of preemptively decided it wasnt the work of foreign saboteurs. The nearby Statue of Liberty suffered severe shrapnel damage, closing visitor access to the Statues torch for good. [13] A notable location for one of the first major explosions was around the Johnson Barge No. In some ways, it's shocking that the explosion didn't cause more damage. Following the explosion, the Jersey Journal warned of as many as 50 deaths. It also meant fewer people would remember what happened at Black Tom. The force of the explosion left wreckage strewn across Black Tom Island. One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. At around 2 a.m. on the Sunday morning of July 30, 1916, one hundred years ago today, explosions on Black Tom Islandrocked New York harbor. Were the saboteurs ever identified? The fire risked setting off munitions that survived the first blast. Library Guides: Black Tom Explosion: Black Tom Explosion 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.
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