black tom explosion never happened

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. After wiring the facilities with explosives, the trio set small fires in boxcars brimming with TNT and gunpowder and loaded other time-delayed bombs and incendiary devices onto a barge tied to a pier. So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. Gilbert King is a contributing writer in history for Smithsonian.com. 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. 17, which contained 50 tons of TNT and 417 cases of detonating fuses. A lot of this criticism came because of an 1875 accidental explosion on the island that killed 4 people. (REBROADCAST of Episode 17) - The Internet Says it's True. The exhibit is divided into two sections presenting historical and judicial points of view. Black Tom Explosion Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, by Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Well, as reported in many of the newspapers in the aftermath, they thought it was negligence. One of the largest examples of sabotage during World War I happened half a mile from the Statue of Liberty and hardly anyone knows the story. The Statue of Liberty was pelted with shrapnel. Photo: Wikipedia. Others attempted to fight the fires. Barges sank, collapsed warehouses buried freight cars, and eventually the entire pier went under. Today, the Black Tom site is part of New Jerseys Liberty State Park. 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. [38][39], The United States did not have an established national intelligence service, other than diplomats and few military and naval attaches, making the investigation difficult. It was the center of, and was destroyed by, the terrorist bombing of 1916. 7. The Black Tom explosion worked to shift American sentiment against Germany fully. The blast was believed by some to be the work of the same German operatives responsible for the numerous explosions and fires that had bedeviled ships and factories involved in the munitions trade for more than a year. Because while the statue was built for the torch to be accessed by tourists, its been closed from visitors since 1916. English: The Black Tom explosion of July 30, 1916 in Jersey City, New Jersey was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materials from being used by the Allies in World War I. "[49] The explosion also played a role in how future presidents responded to military conflict. And the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which sustained much of the financial damage, knew who to blame: Germany. Part of the WCBE Podcast Experience. "Black Tom is certainly not well known, even in the New York area," Jackson said. According to Chad Millman, who wrote The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice," there were two main reasons that the investigation took so long. [27] The former Black Tom Island is at the end of Morris Pesin Drive in the southeastern corner of the park, where a plaque marks the spot of the explosion. Decades would pass, however, before Germany settled it. Following the explosion, the Jersey Journal warned of as many as 50 deaths. The island was artificial, created by land fill around a rock of the same name, which had been a local hazard to navigation. 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. This was one of the major reasons that Germany was sending saboteurs to disrupt the supply chain from America. It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame. 49, No. 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. [26] President Wilson remarked of the incident that it was "a regrettable incident at a private railroad terminal",[27][28] and Edgar E. Clark of the Interstate Commerce Commission was dispatched to investigate. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place. Black Tom explosion - An even more iconic example of World War I sabotage than Bergen County's Kingsland Explosion, the Black Tom explosion rocked Hudson County and beyond on July 30,. Second, for political reasons more than anything, Germany was incredibly reluctant to admit it. The Black Tom explosion did massive damage to the pier. On the island, the explosion destroyed more than one hundred railroad cars, thirteen warehouses, and left a 375-by-175-foot (110 by 50m) crater at the source of the explosion. Special Shoutouts After this look at the Black Tom explosion, check out these haunting World War I photos that capture the tragedy of the war. American authorities charged into the breach, ready to find out exactly what had happened. Terms of Use Unedited videos of guest interviews and quizzes 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. But they hadnt yet discovered the sinister truth. We must not again be caught napping with no adequate national intelligence organization. Onlookers in Manhattan watched as munition shells rocketed across the water and exploded a mile from the fires on Black Tom Island. cites the Black Tom explosion as the reason the torch is closed off, $50 million in damages were awarded to plaintiffs. This Black Tom Explosion commemorative plaque in Liberty State Park is the only reminder of the incident. On the night of July 30, 1916, Black Tom Island held 2 million pounds of explosives. Despite the enormity of the explosions, only four persons were reported killed. With shredded clothes, bleeding ears and faces full of soot and dirt, the Jersey City fire department continued to fight the fire. It tossed Jersey City residents from their beds. The island and the depot were completely destroyed. According to North Jersey, after placing bombs along the island, one of the saboteurs fled to his aunt's nearby home, shouting, "Oh, my God, what did I do?". Firefighters were unable to fight the fires until the bullets and shrapnel stopped flying. "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.". 26 - Apr. An explosion that initially looked like an accident, turned out to be an act of sabotage. In the days after the blasts, confusion reigned. First, a lack of documentation made it incredibly difficult to prove Germany was guilty of the crime. The force of the explosion left wreckage strewn across Black Tom Island. According to New Jersey City University, the quest for reparations began with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which used a 1921 treaty between the U.S. and Germany to request reparations. Your email address will not be published. ", "Men of Secrets: Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill", "Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. Captain Franz von Rintelen had arrived in the U.S. the previous year. Authorities successfully recovered shells lost in the harbor during the explosion. When Germany proposed to Mexico that it ally itself with the Kaiser against America and when it resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on any enemy or neutral ship crossing the Atlantic, America declared war. Jahnke and Witzke fled to Mexico shortly before the United States entered the war and were among the German agents who stirred anti-American sentiment and organized sabotage operations from across the border. Still, the impact of the Black Tom Island explosion is still felt in at least one small way today. Aluminum powder explosion, advanced by Patrick O'Sullivan. 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. The Black Tom explosion was the peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the First World War. A railway connected the landfill island to shore and it became a key munitions depot during World War I. American Passage: This History of Ellis Island by Vincent J. Cannato, HarperCollins, 2009. In this episode, we talk about German Saboteurs and then chat with Author of Branding Democrats, Ken Weber. No Evidence of Plot in New York Explosion, Federal Agents Assert Washington Post, July 31, 1916. 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. From Manhattan, witnesses saw shells shoot across the harbor and explode a mile from the blast site. There simply wasnt any sort of federal body with the ability or the authority to deal with foreign saboteurs.It wasnt until several decades later that Germany was declared officially responsible and was sued. Throughout the city, office buildings were missing windows. Every episode ends by playing a gameshow-style quiz game with a celebrity guest. Just a few months earlier, on July 30, 1916, the area shook with the horrific explosion at Black Tom Island in Jersey City, NJ, an act of sabotage that blew out thousands of windows and even damaged the Statue of Liberty. The devastating explosion on Black Tom was carried out by three men, one of whom worked at the depot. JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two German spies crossed New York Harbor at midnight, making the journey in a rowboat loaded with dynamite. Even the other agents from the German military didnt know about his secret orders. Along with two German saboteurs, Lothar Witzke and Kurt Jahnke, Kristoff is believed to have set the incendiary devices that caused the mayhem on Black Tom. This F3 tornado was one of the strongest to ever touch down in New Jersey. Survey map of ammunition storage facilities, industrial plants, warehouses, railroad tracks, wharves, and piers damaged by a German sabotage operation during World War I. Black Tom Cassidy (created October 1976), a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. That made munitions depots like Black Tom Island a major target for German saboteurs. One of the things that was blamed was the lighting of smudge pots to keep mosquitos away. 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. After years of deliberating, the German-American Mixed Claims Commission ultimately ordered Germany to pay $50 million in reparations. 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. 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.. It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, when the sky suddenly exploded with an unnatural brilliance. One paper reported that after seeing the blast, watchmen "got down on their knees and prayed.". And explode is barely the word: The shock-waves from Black Tom . The Mixed Claims Commission declared in 1939 that Imperial Germany had been responsible and awarded $50 million (the largest claim) in damages, which Nazi Germany refused to pay. 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). On July 30, 1916, the supply depot on Black Tom Island contained around 1,000 tons of weapons and ordnance in train cars and on barges, ready to be shipped to Russia. Their destination: Jersey City's Black Tom Island, at the time the largest ammunition depot in America. Were the saboteurs ever identified? Sadly, there was no stopping them. A game of tag; see British Bulldog (game) Black Tom. | 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. [13] A notable location for one of the first major explosions was around the Johnson Barge No. In the aftermath of the explosions, law-enforcement agents quickly arrested officials from the railroad, storage company and barge business who operated from the Black Tom site. There wasnt nearly enough water supply to the island to fight the fires. ", At the Woolworth building, the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time, watchmen feared that the world was ending. This was the Black Tom explosion. ?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. The blast was the equivalent of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. The Black Tom Explosion. 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. The process of sorting through the wreckage required extreme care. At 2:08 A.M. on Sunday July 30, 1916 the timed bombs . While its not thought that he was incredibly successful, he was discovered by the FBI and fled to Mexico. Sign up to access all of it today! Copyright 2023 The Internet Says it's True. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. The torch has not been open to the public since 1916. And it permanently damaged the nearby Statue of Liberty. Edgar Clark, a Commissioner with the Interstate Commerce Commission immediately began working on a report to President Woodrow Wilson, and found that there was no violation of federal laws governing the packing and transportation of explosives. N.Y. 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. According to historians, the Germans sabotaged the Lehigh Valley munitions depot in order to stop deliveries being made to the British who had blockaded the Germans in Europe. Damaged canal boats in the wreckage after the explosion. Firefighters battled the flames well into the next day after the massive explosion. World War One was raging in Europe. [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. German spies attacked New York on July 30th, 1916. (Grants Pass, Or.) When Germany attacked New Jersey | Black Tom explosion IT'S HISTORY 480K subscribers Join Subscribe 661 Share Save 19K views 1 year ago The FBI recalls, It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday. View of the Statue of Liberty from the site of the explosion: The explosion caused $100,000 worth of damage to the statue, and from then onward the torch has been closed to tourists. In the early 20th century, enemy attacks on American soil were so rare that many assumed the Black Tom explosion was an accident. 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. (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 President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the Black Tom explosion as part of his rationale for the internment of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. 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. The Bureau of Investigation initially concluded the explosion was an accident, but doubts were widespread. That same year, a German agent entered the U.S., planted a bomb in the Senate reception room at the U.S. Capitol and set it to detonate at midnight. The Black Tom explosion did massive damage to the pier. The stained glass windows in St. Patrick's Church were destroyed. At the time President Roosevelt said to him: "We don't want any more Black Toms."[50][51]. 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. Rail Heads Face Arrest in Pier Blast at N.Y. Chicago Daily Tribune, August 1, 1916. The Black Tom explosion of July 30th, 1916, was so large it could be felt in Philadelphia, ninety miles away. "When the explosion came, it seemed as if it was from abovezumpf!like a Zeppelin bomb," he said, according to Smithsonian Magazine. But federal authorities could not trace the fire to the pots, and reports ultimately concluded that the blasts must have been accidentaleven though several suspicious factory explosions in the United States, mostly around New York, pointed toward German spies and saboteurs. Why the explosion? 17 was packed with 50 tons of TNT, and 69 railroad freight cars were storing more than a thousand tons of ammunition, all awaiting shipment to Britain and France. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. Divers recovered munitions from New York Harbor after the explosion. One of those newcomers to America was Count Johann Von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Washington. And no one anticipated that the munitions depot might become the target of enemy agents. Woodrow Wilson. 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. [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". How Eyewitnesses Survived Explosion New York Times, July 31, 1916. Jahnke was never apprehended, and he returned to Germany in 1921. America didnt join the fight in Europe until early 1917, but Germany was nervous about Americas supply of materials to France and Britain, including cattle. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in the New York Harbor, destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. [29], Soon after the explosion, suspicion fell upon Michael Kristoff,[30] a Slovak immigrant. It's as if they didn't know the event existed either. The force of the Black Tom explosion was equivalent to a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. Required fields are marked *. 9." Watermark: Permalife, 25% cotton content. On July 30, 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm's German agents, exploded the largest munitions depot on the east coast, Black Tom Island. The incident took place at on Black Tom Island, between New Jersey and Liberty Island on July 30, 1916, at 2:08 am. "And it wasn't really until it got into the late 1930s, and there was such animus again towards Germany because of Hitler, that all of the sudden the U.S. just became more interested in the case.". Gilbert King The blasts also wreaked havoc at the site. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. But it took until after World War II for Germany to initiate the payout prolonging the saga until 1979. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. The Mixed Claims Commission decided, at last, that there must have been "foul play" behind the Black Tom explosion. He served for years as an intelligence agent for the Nazi regime and was executed by the Soviets after his capture in 1945. Summary and Definition: The Black Tom Explosion was an act of German sabotage in New York Harbor during World War One. He had worked with a chemist to perfect a particular type of tiny bomb with a time-delayed incendiary device and he told Admiral von Tripitz back in Berlin Ill buy what I can and blow up what I cant.. At the time, it was both the largest explosion in modern history and the first foreign terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Peter Raceta, the captain of a flatbottom barge in the harbor, was in the cabin watching the fire on Black Tom with two other men. The blast shattered windows across the harbor in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 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. From Lower Manhattan to Times Square, windows shattered. Munition barges, freight cars, and warehouses were all damaged during the Black Tom explosion. [3] It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions in history. [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. It starts, You are standing on a site which saw one of the worst acts of sabotage in American history!. But it was too late. Most of the arms, however, were going to the AlliesBritain, France and Russiabecause the British navy had blockaded Germany. A torpedo hitting the magazine could have kicked the stored aluminum powder into the air. No guards stopped him, and no one noticed his pockets, which bulged with bombs shaped like cigars. 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. In fact, it was almost too easy for the spies to infiltrate Black Tom Island. On July 30, 1916 the Black Tom munitions depot exploded rocking New York Harbor and sending residents tumbling from their beds. Listen to TONS of bonus content including: Boats and barges of all sizes were destroyed during the attack. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. They were right. 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. A third man, a drifter, entered the depot on foot. On the night of July 30th, 1916, Black Tom island disappeared. One barge alone held 100,000 pounds of TNTl, and the total weight of the munitions topped two million pounds. One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. Authorities assess the damage after the Black Tom explosion, which left the munitions depot in tatters. The CIA wouldnt be established until after World War II. Articles: First Explosion Terrific New York Times, July 31, 1916.

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