One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. Second, for political reasons more than anything, Germany was incredibly reluctant to admit it. The Black Tom Explosion Memorial - Jersey City, New Jersey - Atlas Obscura The Forgotten Incident That Helped Suck The US Into WWI All Rights Reserved. Many Explosions Since War Began New York Times, July 31, 1916. "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.". At 2:08 am, five million people were awakened by an explosion that was heard as far away as Maryland. 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. "I think partly because of the isolation of the explosion. Senate Document 105-2", "The Kaiser Sows Destruction Central Intelligence Agency", "Frequently Asked Questions Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". Scan this QR code to download the app now. 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. 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. [43] The final payment was made in 1979. Smaller explosions continued till dawn, but they caused little damage. 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. But its doubtful that anyone currently living has been up to the torch of the statue. Scientists would later assess the magnitude of the blast at 5.5 on todays Richter scale. The torch has not been open to the public since 1916. This F3 tornado was one of the strongest to ever touch down in New Jersey. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. On July 30, 1916, a massive explosion shakes the harbor, a blast so tremendous it's felt in Philadelphia and Baltimore. No one stopped them. 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. Black Tom Island is now part of Liberty State Park. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Even so, the German agents who blew up Black Tom were not identified at the time. Then guards at the pier were taken in for questioning; on the night of the explosions, they had lit smudge pots to keep mosquitoes away, and their carelessness with the pots was believed to have started the fires. In the meantime, landfill projects eventually incorporated Black Tom Island into Liberty State Park. However, that decision came in 1939 the year Hitler invaded Poland and set off World War II. Never mind that the U.S. was officially neutral in the conflict at this point. It blew the windows out of every high-rise building in Lower Manhattan. Black Tom -- 100 Years Ago Today, the Night New York Harbor Exploded President Woodrow Wilson, locked in a tough reelection battle, downplayed the attack. The Untold Story Of Espionage In New Jersey Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. ON THE MAP; Explosion by the Hudson, Foreign Espionage, Local Fear 17. The Black Tom explosion was a peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the first World War. Even the other agents from the German military didnt know about his secret orders. 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. One of the barge captains was also killed. The terror attack on New Jersey that America forgot | AP News With few national security laws and no real intelligence community to thwart German agents, America was vulnerable. [26] Suspicion at the time fell solely upon suspected German intelligence operatives Kurt Jahnke and Lothar Witzke, who are still judged as legally responsible. Divers recovered munitions from New York Harbor after the explosion. Special Shoutouts The Black Tom Explosion: Proof of the Mandela Effect? 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. One thing the authorities initially seemed to agree on was that the explosions werent the work of foreign saboteurs. So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. He bribed officials, which included some of the security men responsible for guarding the pier at Black Tom Island. The first of the Black Tom explosions was felt at 2:08 a.m. followed half an hour later by a second blast. 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. [49] In an interview with Jules Witcover, McCloy noted that as assistant secretary of the navy under Wilson, Roosevelt "knew all about Black Tom." The damage from the Black Tom explosion stretched across the railroad yard and pier. 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. The Black Tom explosion wasnt the only provocation. "The Germans probably saw that as an act of war," Jackson said. And as of 1916, the United States still wanted to remain isolated from the war. And the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which sustained much of the financial damage, knew who to blame: Germany. 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. The last payment was made to Black Tom claimants in 1979. The force of the explosion extended for miles from ground zero. Sabotage in New York Harbor | History| Smithsonian Magazine [13] A notable location for one of the first major explosions was around the Johnson Barge No. The nearby Statue of Liberty suffered severe shrapnel damage, closing visitor access to the Statues torch for good.
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