But the legacy of this explosion is deeper than just relegating tourists to Lady Libertys crown. 26 - Apr. Even so, the German agents who blew up Black Tom were not identified at the time. The Black Tom explosion was a peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the first World War. It is said that three men were seen making their way along the Jersey City's Black Tom docks at midnight. A game of tag; see British Bulldog (game) Black Tom. On July 29, 1916, German agents set fire to a complex of warehouses and ships in the New York harbor that held munitions, fuel, and explosives bound to aid the Allies in. 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. The explosion,. The Black Tom explosion of July 30th, 1916, was so large it could be felt in Philadelphia, ninety miles away. Firemen Work in Rain of Bullets New York Times, July 31, 1916. 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. And now you can tell them why. Required fields are marked *. 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.. There still is a cloak of secrecy about what happened on July 30, 1916. Events From US History Not Taught In School - Ranker The total damage came to an estimated $20 million - a massive sum in 1916 equivalent to more than half a billion dollars today. [6] By 1880, the island was transformed into a 25-acre (10ha) promontory,[7] and a causeway and railroad had been built to connect it with the mainland to use as a shipping depot. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? 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. IE 11 is not supported. Martin Casella's Explosive "Black Tom Island" Asks, "What Creates a The incident also influenced public safety legislation. While that incident caused anger, it did not galvanize the American public to action. The Mixed Claims Commission, set up after World War I to handle damage claims by companies and governments affected by German sabotage, awarded $50 million to plaintiffs in the Black Tom explosionthe largest damage claim of any in the war. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, two watchmen who had lit smudge pots to keep away mosquitoes were questioned by police but the police soon determined that the smudge pots had not caused the fire and that the blast had likely been an accident. The next day, a sign warning of fire danger remained in the wreckage left by the explosion. None of the baggage handlers who were above the magazine survived the sinking. The damage from the Black Tom explosion stretched across the railroad yard and pier. Liberty State Park: The Black Tom Explosion The United States of 1914 Natural Hazards Center || 100 Years of Terror All was dark and quiet on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, not far from the Statue of Liberty, when small fires began to burn on the night of July 30, 1916. At 2:08 am, five million people were awakened by an explosion that was heard as far away as Maryland. History's Headlines: Black Tom Island, Sabotage 1916! - YouTube The rivets popped out of the right arm and the arm holding the torch was pushed up against the statues crown. German agents who were determined to prevent American munitions shippers from supplying its English enemy during the First World War. Drifting in and out of prison for various crimes, he died of tuberculosis in 1928. They knew a fire had started the chain of events. The island was the location of 2 million pounds of small arms and artillery ammunition. Black Tom 1916 Bombing It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, when the sky suddenly exploded with an unnatural brilliance. Privacy Statement The Bureau of Investigationthe FBIs predecessorlikewise did what it could, but it was held back by its small size (260 employees in a handful of offices) and lack of jurisdiction. 19? Three men and a baby were killed by the explosive energy that erupted from this act of sabotage. Nearby Ellis island was evacuated. Senate Document 105-2", "The Kaiser Sows Destruction Central Intelligence Agency", "Frequently Asked Questions Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". All Rights Reserved. Planning for the sabotage of Black Tom began more than a year before the explosion, when German spymaster Franz von Rintelen started surveilling and mapping out storage sheds on the Black Tom piers. First, a lack of documentation made it incredibly difficult to prove Germany was guilty of the crime. While the United States had not yet entered World War I and was officially neutral, American munitions dealers could legally sell to any of the warring nations. Police arrested three railroad-company officials on charges of manslaughter, on the assumption that the fires began in two freight cars. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. Its thought that, had the Richter scale existed, the Black Tom Island explosions would have registered somewhere around a 5.5.It wasnt until the next morning that most of the city saw the devastation. German Master Spy Franz Von Rintelen and his "pencil bomb" were responsible for acts of sabotage in the United States during World War I. 7. The Untold Story Of Espionage In New Jersey 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. For instance, Germany had sponsored a program the previous year to sabotage the American Cattle Industry. "The new German government felt like if they were to admit to and pay damages for the destruction at Black Tom, it was tantamount to saying that they drew the U.S. into war from this," Millman said. Others attempted to fight the fires and eventually called the Jersey City Fire Department. He returned to the United States with anthrax and glanders with the intention of infecting and killing livestock. A series of blasts were heard and felt some 90 miles in every direction, even as far as Philadelphia. We must not again be caught napping with no adequate national intelligence organization. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Investigations immediately claims the explosion at Black Tom is, "an accident." President Wilson, vacationing in Chesapeake Bay, calls the devastation at Black . 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. Here's why you can't visit the Statue of Liberty's torch On July 30, 1916, an explosion at Black Tom Island rocked New York Harbor. [26] Suspicion at the time fell solely upon suspected German intelligence operatives Kurt Jahnke and Lothar Witzke, who are still judged as legally responsible. The Kingsland Factory Explosion (and the switchboard operator who saved Black Tom explosion. Until April 6, 1917, the United States was neutral in respect to World War I and its munitions companies earlier in the war could sell to any buyer. Just after 2:00 a.m., an explosion lit the skiesthe equivalent of an earthquake measuring up to 5.5 on the Richter scale, according to a recent study. On July 30, 1916, an explosion at Black Tom Island rocked New York Harbor. Entire structures vanished into the water after a massive explosion ripped through the air at 2:08 a.m. on July 30, 1916. 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. (Grants Pass, Or.) The violent blast, one of the largest explosions on U.S. soil, occurred on Black Tom Island, a peninsula jutting out into Upper New York Bay situated across from the Statue of Liberty. Black Tom was literally a ticking time bomb. The Mandela Effect is when a large group of people share a common memory of something that differs from what is generally accepted to be fact. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. It was irreparably damaged in a massive explosion only 3,000 feet away. Their destination: Jersey City's Black Tom Island, at the time the largest ammunition depot in America. It was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. A torpedo hitting the magazine could have kicked the stored aluminum powder into the air. Damaged canal boats in the wreckage after the explosion. Statue of Liberty Damaged by Giant Ammunition Explosions Washington Post, July 31, 1916. 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. Chad: So when the guard saw him he didn't think twice about this guy being in the area . The Black Tom Explosion was an act of sabotage made by agents of Imperial Germany. Explosion at Black Tom: A forgotten history of sabotage during WWI Black Tom explosion (30 July 1916), Jersey City, New Jersey; act of World War I sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent shipments to the Allies. [16] The outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall was cracked and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. Some lodged in the Statue of Liberty, damaging her skirt and torch. The Black Tom Explosion by Lauren Dillon August 1, 2022 0 In 1916 one of the "largest non-nuclear artificial explosions" occurred in the United States. Today In History: The Black Tom Explosion Rocked NY Harbor Giveaways and swag German sabotage actually damaged the Statue of Liberty during WWI Were the saboteurs ever identified? The Black Tom Explosion: Proof of the Mandela Effect? Hive As far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, people felt the blast. Seven people perished in the explosion, and over $20 million in damages resulted. | It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame. The Black Tom Explosion didn't happen in our original universe Gilbert King is a contributing writer in history for Smithsonian.com. And explode is barely the word: The shock-waves from Black Tom . 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. ; a Powder Factory Completely Destroyed Four Men Instantly killed", "The Point of Rocks Line: More about the Little Railroad", "An Attack That Turned Out to Be German Terrorism Has a Modest Legacy 100 Years Later", "Looking Back Black Tom railroad yard NFPA Journal", "On the Map; Explosion by the Hudson, Foreign Espionage, Local Fear: 1916", "Rogue River courier. [45][46] Access was not opened even after the 19841986 restoration which included repairs to the arm and installation of a new gold-plated copper torch. An official website of the United States government. One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. Just Southwest of Liberty Island, which used to be known as Bedloes island there was a munitions depot called Black Tom Island. Hours after the blasts, with the Black Tom fires still burning out of control, The New York Times printed a story listing 42 explosions at American munitions and chemical facilities since war. No one stopped them. In the summer of 1916, about 70 freight cars sat on Black Tom Island, holding munition shells and TNT that would eventually be unloaded onto barges. Wartime Sabotage in a Neutral Country? The Black Tom Explosion Captain Franz von Rintelen had arrived in the U.S. the previous year. By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. | READ MORE. One of the barge captains was also killed. You are walking on a site which saw one of the worse [sic] acts of terrorism in American history. [47], The Black Tom explosion resulted in the establishment of domestic intelligence agencies for the United States. ?1918", "The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers", The terror attack on N.J. that America forgot, New York at War Four Centuries of Combat, Fear, and Intrigue in Gotham. That night, two German spies rowed across New York Harbor, their boat heavy with dynamite. As Chad Millman points out in his book, The Detonators, there was a certain naivete at the timePresident Woodrow Wilson could not bring himself to believe that Germans might be responsible for such destruction. The act of sabotage was the largest enemy attack on continental American soil prior to 9/11. (REBROADCAST of Episode 17) - The Internet Says it's True. Books: The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice by Chad Millman, Little, Brown and Company, 2006. So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. Survivors quickly evacuated the area around Black Tom Island after the 2:08 a.m. explosion. The island and the depot were completely destroyed. No guards stopped him, and no one noticed his pockets, which bulged with bombs shaped like cigars. The event that sparked the ban occurred 102 years ago Monday, on July 30, 1916. The Little-Known Story Of The Black Tom Explosion That Rocked New York In 1916 Genevieve Carlton 4 weeks ago During World War I, German saboteurs ignited 2 million pounds of munitions on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, triggering one of the largest explosions to ever occur on American soil. [5] On January 26, 1875, an accidental explosion killed four. One barge contained 50 tons of TNT, and was only moored at Black Tom Island to avoid a $25.00 charge. Why the explosion? Forgotten history, bizarre tales & facts that seem too strange to be true! There are a ton of people alive today who claim to remember visiting the statue of liberty and climbing the stairs all the way up to the torch, where they looked out over the New York Harbor. It wasnt until 1953 when the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to settle the matter and paid the United States $95 million dollars in damages. Germany. [citation needed], It is likely[according to whom?] Terms of Use Authorities recovered munitions from the blast site without knowing whether they were live. FATCO sells organic & responsibly-made tallow-based skincare products. [48] The sabotage techniques used by Germany, and the United States' declaration of war on Germany, led to the creation of the Espionage Act, which passed by Congress in late 1917. Gilbert King 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. To Boldly Go: How Spacemen Poo and Pee (REBROADCAST of Episode 5) - The Internet Says it's True, The Nebraska Miracle: The West End Baptist Church Explosion. JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two German spies crossed New York Harbor at midnight, making the journey in a rowboat loaded with dynamite. Smoke billowing from the Black Tom explosion, a German sabotage . According to Kristoff, two of the guards at Black Tom were German agents. [3] It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history. The guards who fled had the right idea. Its been awhile since weve talked about the Mandela Effect the idea that somehow a large group of people misremember something collectively. The sheer magnitude of the explosions at Black Tom is difficult to fathom. The exhibit is divided into two sections presenting historical and judicial points of view. This explosion was so large, it was heard all the way in Philadelphia. "The shock was so great that I was thrown off my chair into the hall and the broken glass fell in showers upon me as I lay on the floor," Fitzpatrick said, according to the Natural Hazards Center. But there was a blockade of Germany in place by the Royal Navy, so America was only supplying munitions to the Allies. Rail Heads Face Arrest in Pier Blast at N.Y. Chicago Daily Tribune, August 1, 1916. On July 30, 1916, at just after 2 in the morning, a massive explosion ripped apart the island of Black Tom on the shoreline near Jersey City, sending a shockwave through the region and thousands of pounds of wartime shrapnel into the neighboring Ellis Island and Bedloe's Island (home to the Statue of Liberty). [43] The final payment was made in 1979. Peter Raceta was captaining a barge in the harbor when the blast shook the air. It took seventeen years for the MCC to find Germany responsible for the destruction of Black Tom Island, ordering the German government to pay the United States $50 million in damages. Black Tom: A Novel of Sabotage in New York Harbor It was heard and felt as far away as Philadelphia, and in Baltimore, people spilled from their homes, fearing an earthquake was underway. At 2:08 a.m., an explosion ripped through the night. 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. It blew the windows out of every high-rise building in Lower Manhattan. The Mare Island Explosion: A Defining Moment In Bay Area History The total damage came to an estimated $20 million a massive sum in 1916 equivalent to more than half a billion dollars today. It tossed Jersey City residents from their beds. The devastating explosion on Black Tom was carried out by three men, one of whom worked at the depot. Theme by ILoveWP.com. 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. Black Tom Island is now part of Liberty State Park. The Bureaus Role During Early World War I Years, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. 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. And they couldnt imagine that Germans would have done this. The island was temporarily closed. And not so much as a fence guarded the two million pounds of munitions. In one terrifying, ear-splitting moment, the Great War then raging overseas had come to America. The Statue of Liberty was pelted with shrapnel. The policy was clearly rooted in McCloys experience with German sabotage, views that were shared by President Roosevelt who had been the Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I, and who attempted to justify this indefensible action, by declaring We dont want another Black Tom.. 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. An explosion America seems to have forgotten ever happened. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, "killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 ($500 million in 2022 dollars) worth of military goods."
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