black tom explosion never happened

As far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, people felt the blast. 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. That money continued to be paid until 1979, 63 years after the attack. The worst disaster in each of New Jersey's 21 counties - nj.com But it took years for investigators to piece together the evidence against the Germans in the bombing. Black Tom Explosion: The Bombing That Rocked New York In 1916 Sabotage in New York Harbor | History| Smithsonian Magazine 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. Black Tom Explosion: German Sabotage on US Soil During WWI So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. How Eyewitnesses Survived Explosion New York Times, July 31, 1916. At least five people were killed, including a baby in Jersey City who was thrown from his crib, and there was an estimated $20 millionthe equivalent of some $500 million todayin property damage. [32] Von Rintelen used many resources at his disposal, including a large amount of money. In the darkened . Nearby at the Statue of Liberty, a legacy of the disaster remains: Due to the damage the statue sustained on July 30, 1916, its torch has been closed to the public for the last century. ", "Men of Secrets: Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill", "Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. For the U.S., responding was difficult. One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. [9], On the night of the Black Tom explosion, July 30, 1916, about 2,000,000 pounds (910,000kg) of small arms and artillery ammunition were stored at the depot in freight cars and on barges, including 100,000 pounds (45,000kg) of TNT on Johnson Barge No. First, a lack of documentation made it incredibly difficult to prove Germany was guilty of the crime. The Black Tom explosion worked to shift American sentiment against Germany fully. That night, guards spotted small fires on the pier and . ", Sabotage at Black Tom - Imperial Germany's Secret War in America, 1914-1917, "Explosion at Liberty! How successful were they? And the Bureau exercised primary jurisdiction over all of these laws as it pursued a wide variety of national security investigations. He said the isolation of the island, along with the decreased influx of immigrants to nearby Ellis Island at the time other countries were deterring their citizens from leaving and escaping the draft lowered the casualty count. 1.7K views 2 years ago #JerseyCity #HistorysHeadlines It is the early morning hours of July 30, 1916, minutes before the Black Tom Island munitions dump explosion in Jersey City, N.J. will. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The Dark Invader and the Black Tom Explosion - weirdnj.com Some lodged in the Statue of Liberty, damaging her skirt and torch. The island was temporarily closed. The Statue of Liberty was pelted with shrapnel. From Manhattan, witnesses saw shells shoot across the harbor and explode a mile from the blast site. The loss of life, however, was not great: Counts vary, but fewer than ten people perished in the explosions. Nearly everyone in Manhattan and Jersey City was jolted awake, and many were thrown from their beds. [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. 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. The act of sabotage was the largest enemy attack on continental American soil prior to 9/11. 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. On the night of July 30, 1916, Black Tom Island held 2 million pounds of explosives. For reference, when the World Trade Centers North Tower collapsed in 2001, it registered a 2.3 on the Richter scale. To this day, access to that torch is banned. One barge alone held 100,000 pounds of TNTl, and the total weight of the munitions topped two million pounds. James Doherty, a police officer from Jersey City, was killed in the explosion. 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. Very. r/MandelaEffect on Reddit: Black Tom Explosion? "Note: This territory also covered by sheets 84, 85, 86 & 89 of Hudson County, vol. Never mind that the U.S. was officially neutral in the conflict at this point. While its not thought that he was incredibly successful, he was discovered by the FBI and fled to Mexico. It was heard and felt as far away as Philadelphia, and in Baltimore, people spilled from their homes, fearing an earthquake was underway. The island was artificial, created by land fill around a rock of the same name, which had been a local hazard to navigation. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Stained-glass windows from inside Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Jersey City, NJ. After the explosion, Black Tom Island sank into New York Harbor. that the bombing involved some of the techniques developed by German agents working for Ambassador Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, who covertly acted as a spymaster while under German Foreign Office cover, and Captain Franz von Rintelen of the intelligence wing of the German Imperial Navy, using the cigar bombs developed by Dr. Walter Scheele[de]. "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. [3], The Russian government[40] sued the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company operating the Black Tom Terminal on grounds that lax security (there was no entrance gate; the territory was unlit)[41] permitted the loss of their ammunition and argued that due to the failure to deliver them the manufacturer was obliged by the contract to replace them. The New York Times reported that the explosion was initially attributed to negligence by those working on the island. After this look at the Black Tom explosion, check out these haunting World War I photos that capture the tragedy of the war. While that incident caused anger, it did not galvanize the American public to action. All Rights Reserved. The next day, a sign warning of fire danger remained in the wreckage left by the explosion. And that was partly true. Firefighters were unable to fight the fires until the bullets and shrapnel stopped flying. Citing Black Tom Terminal by name, the message told Hilken that "Kristoff, Wo1fgang and that Hoboken bunch" were to be paid, and was signed "Hinch." Hinch, or Graentnor, was a shadowy figure who was never found. 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. One of the things that was blamed was the lighting of smudge pots to keep mosquitos away. With debris raining down, authorities were forced to evacuate hundreds of terrified immigrants having just escaped from war-torn Europe from Ellis Island to the mainland. In the late 1800s, Jersey City dumped refuse on a rock in New York Harbor. Every episode ends by playing a gameshow-style quiz game with a celebrity guest. JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two German spies crossed New York Harbor at midnight, making the journey in a rowboat loaded with dynamite. 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. It even bent electricity poles. Survivors quickly evacuated the area around Black Tom Island after the 2:08 a.m. explosion. Nearby Bedloe's Island saw some of the worst damage, with plaster torn from the walls and windows shattered. Just outside of Jersey City, the island was a manmade rectangle of land, mostly built up from refuse and rocks in the New York Harbor. 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. 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. He was a German Naval Intelligence officer and a master spy. No one stopped them. By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. And after decades of debate, Germany agreed to pay reparations for the damage. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. The damage was estimated at $20 million the equivalent of more than $500 million in 2021 dollars. It was the middle of the night and the summer night on New York Harbor was calm. 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. On Ellis Island, terrified immigrants were evacuated by ferry to the Battery. "Violating the Law of One Price: Should We Make a Federal Case Out of It? But it was too late. Part of the WCBE Podcast Experience. 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. Visitors have not been allowed inside the torch for over a century after a massive explosion. (We recount the entire story in our podcast from 2016 about the 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. Peter Raceta was captaining a barge in the harbor when the blast shook the air. If designed and placed properly, a pencil bomb could be timed to detonate days later, while ships and their cargo were at sea. The Bureaus Role During Early World War I Years, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was 1939 and Germany had other plans happening at the time. Black Tom explosion | Military Wiki | Fandom [48] The then Police Commissioner of New York, Arthur Woods, argued, "The lessons to America are clear as day. 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. On July 30, 1916, a massive explosion shakes the harbor, a blast so tremendous it's felt in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Required fields are marked *. Genevieve Carlton earned a Ph.D in history from Northwestern University with a focus on early modern Europe and the history of science and medicine before becoming a history professor at the University of Louisville. The Black Tom Explosion: Proof of the Mandela Effect? Kristoff was arrested by the Jersey City police on suspicion of involvement in the blast, but they released him for lack of evidence. Black Tom was a distribution point for thousands of tons of munitions, explosives, and black powder shipped across the Atlantic to Allied forces fighting in Europe. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. Review this podcast athttps://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, Your email address will not be published. The fire risked setting off munitions that survived the first blast. The massive blasts obliterated Black Tom Island, the largest munitions depot in the United States, located in New York Harbor and connected by rail bed to Jersey City, New Jersey. Get 15% off by using my promo code: INTERNET or click HERE. "Black Tom is certainly not well known, even in the New York area," Jackson said. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. We strive for accuracy and fairness. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. ", At the Woolworth building, the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time, watchmen feared that the world was ending. (Grants Pass, Or.) Gilbert King is a contributing writer in history for Smithsonian.com. The history of Mare Island started in 1853 when the United States government purchased the slender, 3.5 miles long peninsula-like island off Vallejo for around $83,000. The Little-Known Story Of The Black Tom Explosion That Rocked New York In 1916. Long: Terrorism's 100th anniversary. The Black Tom explosion wasnt the only provocation. German spies attacked New York on July 30th, 1916. Smaller explosions continued till dawn, but they caused little damage. 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 their fight. It tossed Jersey City residents from their beds. As a result, Imperial Germany sent spies to the United States to disrupt by any means necessary the production and delivery of war munitions that were intended to kill German soldiers on the battlefields of the Great War. On July 30, 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm's German agents, exploded the largest munitions depot on the east coast, Black Tom Island. A torpedo hitting the magazine could have kicked the stored aluminum powder into the air. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Library Guides: Black Tom Explosion: Black Tom Explosion An explosion that initially looked like an accident, turned out to be an act of sabotage. And after the explosion, multiple smaller blasts continued to rip through the air, the shrapnel and flying bullets making it nearly impossible for firefighters to control the blazing inferno. 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. 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. Thousands of windows shattered in lower Manhattan and Jersey City. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Rocketing munition shells spread the damage well beyond Black Tom Island. German spies nearly blew up Statue of Liberty in 1916, closing torch to One Mandela Effect thats related to this story is about the Statue of Liberty. 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. Was it an accident or planned? "World War I Intrigue: German Spies in New York! | READ MORE. Shrapnel pierced the Statue of Liberty (the arm of the Statue was closed to visitors after this). J.P. Morgan survived, but Muenter died soon after most likely from suicide.The most deadly of these acts of German-sponsored terrorism happened on July 30, 1916 just 3,000 feet from the Statue of Liberty. [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. 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. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place. the New York City region in the early hours of the morning of July 30, 1916. 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. 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." Sabotage at Black Tom | Intelligence Analysis and Reporting Doctors and nurses arrived on the scene and tended to dozens of injured. The 8 Most Horrifying Disasters That Ever Happened In New Jersey [10] All were waiting to be shipped to Russia. 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. 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. After years of deliberating, the German-American Mixed Claims Commission ultimately ordered Germany to pay $50 million in reparations. The sinking of the Lusitania occurred over a year earlier. Already packed barges sat tied to piers, ready to cross the Atlantic. But they hadnt yet discovered the sinister truth. American authorities charged into the breach, ready to find out exactly what had happened. The explosion damaged the torch of the Statue of Liberty, shown in the background. On the 30th July 1916, an explosion took place in New York that was the equivalent of an earthquake measuring between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter scale and was felt as far away as Philadelphia. It also meant fewer people would remember what happened at Black Tom. Fires burned on Black Tom Island into the morning after German saboteurs attacked the munitions depot. [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 Black Tom explosion (1916) The best-known of the German attacks occurred at Black Tom Island (actually a pier) in what is now Liberty State Park in Jersey City, early on the morning of July 30 . But the stock of US supplies and financial support were offered to the Allies, and Great Britain welcomed the help. [29], Soon after the explosion, suspicion fell upon Michael Kristoff,[30] a Slovak immigrant. Special Shoutouts A giant crater extended below sea level near the pier and filled with debris and water. Flickr/Wavian. [47], The Black Tom explosion resulted in the establishment of domestic intelligence agencies for the United States. The Statue of Liberty took more than $100,000 worth of damage; Lady Libertys torch, which was then open to visitors who could climb an interior ladder for a spectacular view, has been closed ever since. 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. And explode is barely the word: The shock-waves from Black Tom . The blast excavated a hole so deep that it extended below sea level; water seeped in until a vast pond was created, strewn with the wreckage.. 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. The island was the location of 2 million pounds of small arms and artillery ammunition. One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. And not so much as a fence guarded the two million pounds of munitions. And what of the Black Tom saboteurs? At the time, it was both the largest explosion in modern history and the first foreign terrorist attack on U.S. soil. A lot of this criticism came because of an 1875 accidental explosion on the island that killed 4 people. [16] The outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall was cracked and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. Investigators later learned from Kristoffs landlord that he kept odd hours and sometimes came home at night with filthy hands and clothing, smelling of fuel. 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. In one terrifying, ear-splitting moment, the Great War then raging overseas had come to America. That made munitions depots like Black Tom Island a major target for German saboteurs. At 2:08 a.m., an explosion ripped through the night. Historical Marker", "1916 Black Tom Blast Anniversary Observed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Tom_explosion&oldid=1152246751, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 02:07. Library of Congress photograph. The island received its name from a local legend of an African American resident named . Explosion at Black Tom: A forgotten history of sabotage during WWI German agents who were determined to prevent American munitions shippers from supplying its English enemy during the First World War. The island and the depot were completely destroyed. 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. The Black Tom explosion was a peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the first World War. 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. (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 [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". But its doubtful that anyone currently living has been up to the torch of the statue. Divers recovered munitions from New York Harbor after the explosion. Decades would pass, however, before Germany settled it. Vast quantities were stored in barges moored alongside a mile-long wharf, with one barge alone holding fifty tons of TNT and 25,000 detonators. World War One was raging in Europe. We must not again be caught napping with no adequate national intelligence organization. The Infamous Black Tom Explosion | VisitNJ.org The German Christmas Pickle: Tradition or Marketing? Police officers stood outside stores with broken windows following the explosion to prevent looting. The Black Tom explosion was one of the largest explosions ever to occur on U.S. soil so why do few remember it today?

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