The Attack on Black Tom Island - Research Paper Example

? The Attack on Black Tom Island On June 30th 1916, one of the most dreadful explosions in America occurred in the Black Tom Island, believed to be a German attack. This explosion caused massive destruction of property worth millions of dollars and even dictated on the position of U.S. in the World War 1. In this Island, there were ammunitions in warehouses that the Germans were seeking to destroy. This paper will discuss in detail the occurrences during the attack. It will also provide the various assertions of the actual cause of the attack as well as the consequences of the explosion. Introduction The location of Black Tom Island was at the convergence of Upper New York Harbor and the Hudson River, on the New Jersey side of the bay, immediately offshore of Jersey City. Initially, it was actually little more than a forested mudflat. The name of the island accrues from one resident, who resided in the island referred to as Tom. Studies indicate that this dark-skinned inhabited the island for a long time. Around 1880, a there was erected a causeway to link the island to the Jersey shore and the builders also constructed a railroad on the causeway. Expansion also occurred in the island with landfills and there was construction of warehouses and piers. The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company owned and controlled the railway while the National Dock and Storage Company managed the warehouses. The use of these facilities was for shipping all-purpose consignment (Bryant, 2009). Black Tom was approximately 1,200 feet. It encompassed approximately 20 acres, magnitude of roughly 800 feet north and south and 1,200 feet east and west. German saboteurs destroyed the Black Tom warehouse before the United States went into World War I (Groundspeak, Inc, 2011). The attack of Black Tom Island and the resulting explosion of July 30, 1916 in New Jersey was an operation of sabotage on American armory supplies by German agents. The German agents did this as a way of preventing their Allies from using such powerful ammunitions in the First World War. The extension that occurred in the Island by use of landfill added up the boundaries of the Island to the limits of Jersey City. The ammunitions majorly stored in the Island came from the northeast (Unsolvedmysteries.com, 2011). The attack was successful since general rules favored the attackers in a great way although technically, America was a neutral nation during the explosion. Many people thought that the major aim of the attack was for the persuasion of the America to join the Allies and arbitrate in the war in Europe (Waronyou.com, 2011). The attack on Black Tom Island Before a 1915 obstruction of the Central Powers by the British Royal Navy, American companies were open to trade their materials to any buyer, but during the time of the attack, Germans were the solitary likely customers. Investigations indicated that during the night of the explosion, there were two million pounds of ammunition stored at the warehouse in cargo vehicles. This included one hundred thousand pounds of TNT on the Johnson Barge No.17, all pending for final delivery to France and Britain (Unsolvedmysteries.com, 2011). Investigations on the explosion also indicate that there was prior planning before the attack. In 1914, immediately after the beginning of war in Europe, the German administration posted a new ambassador in Washington. Count Johann Von Bernstorff came with a group staff not of envoys, but of trained German intelligence operators. In addition, the staff had an abnormally high budget of 150 million dollars. Although the staff carried out normal consular duties, they also guided a system of other agents in the Unites States. They selected targets for damage, and used their funds to purchase materials and bribe officials. In addition, German agents, for instance master spy Franz von Rintelen, endeavored to augment the injuries imposed by their attacks. Von Rintelen invented a volatile charge called a pencil bomb devised to explode when a ship was already out to sea (Waronyou.com, 2011). On June 30, 1916, Kurt Jahnke, Lothar Witzke and Michael Kristoff bribed security men on watch to look the opposite side and bombed the warehouse on Black Tom Island. The occurrence caused these two security men to escape for fear of death. The U.S. government had tapped the phones of German envoys and recovered dangerous substance from the briefcase of Heinrich Albert. However, the Military Intelligence Division, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Secret Service were, no more advanced than a small town sheriff’s office. Some investigations indicated that the cause of the explosion would have been a fire, set to repel mosquitoes that had raged out of control (Altschuler, 2006). The initial and major explosion occurred at 2:08 am. Fragments from the explosion went long distances, some reaching the Statue of Liberty and some being in the clock tower of the Jersey Journal building in Journal Square (Unsolvedmysteries.com, 2011). In addition, that first explosion started on board the Johnson 17, a ship shipping volatiles and fuel harbored near the dock. Shortly after this first explosion, numerous other explosions occurred and continued until dawn (Waronyou.com, 2011). In Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn and northern New Jersey, many people flanged from their beds due to the weight of the explosion. The explosion also blew out and smashed many windows in neighboring homes. The explosion also caused a lot of commotion as many people fled along the streets not realizing the source of the explosion. These people became very terrified and even the people residing in Philadelphia felt the shock of the explosion (Bryant, 2009). The explosion was very heavy since it was comparable to an earthquake weighting between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter scale. Another indication depicting the heaviness of the explosion was the issue of windows breaking as far as 25 miles away from the site of the explosion. In addition, the explosion was so heavy that it caused the cracking of the outer wall of Jersey City’s City Hall and it shook the Brooklyn Bridge. It also woke up people as far away as Maryland to as they thought it was a heavy earthquake (Learnsomethingnewtoday.us, 2008). Moreover, the explosion caused death and major injuries to several immigrants living in boats on the port (Socyberty.com, 2009). The precise occasions of the night of the Black tom attack principally remain very ambiguous. This is because the pier was under guard of several security guards even though later investigations indicated tat two of the guards received a bribe from the German agents. On the neighboring shore, there was an ammunition storage facility as well as numerous fuel tanks. Some investigations assert that the initial explosions and fire might have originated from this spot. The reason that made the security guards to Guards to run away from the scene is because they worried of the materials they realized were in the environs (Waronyou.com, 2011). Another likelihood of the cause of the explosion is that it might have involved some of the inventive methods invented by several German agents who were with German ambassador Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff. In this case it is likely that they used the pencil bombs invented by Captain Franz von Rintelen (Learnsomethingnewtoday.us, 2008). Impacts of the explosion and later investigations The explosion caused an approximated property damage of $20 million. In addition, the estimation of the damage caused to the Statue of Liberty was approximately $100. Ever since the incidence, the place was no longer open to visitors (Unsolvedmysteries.com, 2011). Another consequence of the attack was that all the immigrants being processed at Ellis Island had to shift from this area to lower Manhattan. Investigations into the explosion indicates that many people lost their lives and hundreds others sustained major injuries. In addition, after the first and the major explosion, minor explosions constantly occurred for several hours (Learnsomethingnewtoday.us, 2008). The explosion destroyed completely the Black Tom warehouse with its cargo vehicles, barges, tugboats and piers. The most shocking impact of the attack however was that one year following the explosion, America entered the war on the side of the Allies (Groundspeak, Inc, 2011). Bryant (2009) adds that in the morning following the attack, it was evident that the explosion had entirely destroyed the railroad terminal, the boxcars and locomotives. Moreover, the remnants of these destroyed materials were not recognizable and were beyond repair. Amazingly, investigations stated that about four people died in the disaster, including the master who lived on board in one of the barges as well as two law enforcement officers. Liberty State Park, crosswise from Ellis Island, currently inhabits the site of the Black Tom Island blast. In addition, the blast destroyed the Statute of Liberty, resting what was at that time called Bedloe’s Island, approximately a mile away. Particularly, some of the rivets in the arm griping the torch exploded. The War Department, which managed the Statue of Liberty then, closed the torch and arm to guests and has never reopened it to the public. After the war, an exceptional committee assembled to review injuries from different occurrences of terrorism in the United States. The diverse Claims Committee comprised an American, German and an impartial representative. The Committee assessed the assertions of firms, industries, and states that lost possessions to the work of attackers during the war. Of such claims, the Black Tom blast was the largest (Waronyou.com, 2011). Although numerous investigations occurred, the truth remained until eight years after the explosion. Investigations indicated that the actual cause of the attack was an act of German sabotage. Although the United States was impartial during the World War 1, this was not the first act of sabotage from the Germans during the war. For instance there was an earlier attack whereby a German submarine sunk an American boat killing 100 Americans and several others (Socyberty.com, 2009). After completion of the investigations, there was a decree for immediate arrest of two of the guards who helped to light the smudge pots. Conversely, other investigations indicated that the explosion was not a misfortune. Reports indicated that it occurred through a Slovak immigrant called Michael Kristoff (most likely a stolen identity), who was a long time official in the U.S. Army. However, he confessed to carrying luggage for the Germans prior to entrance of America in World War I. he also indicated that two of the security guards, who probably carried out the mission, were disguised German agents (Learnsomethingnewtoday.us, 2008). Even though the blame of the attack at the time exclusively rested on German agents, further investigations in the aftermath of the Annie Larsen matter uncovered connections between the Ghadar plot and the Black Tom attack. These investigations also named Franz von Papen as the man behind both attacks. Afterward, investigations by the Directorate of Naval Intelligence revealed far-reaching relations to the Indian Movement, the Irish movement, in addition to the Communist aspects (Learnsomethingnewtoday.us, 2008). Although nothing conspicuous currently remains of the Black Tom facility, the southern boundary of the park marks out the original shore. In addition, there is a sign marking the place of the occurrence at Black Tom (Groundspeak, Inc, 2011). A loop of American flags harmonizes the sign, which stands merely a little east of the guest's center. Currently, Black Tom remains one of the three most horrible terrorist or concealed attacks on mainland U.S. during the last century (Unsolvedmysteries.com, 2011). Conclusion The attack of Black Tom Island in 1916 remains one of the most dreadful explosions in the nation. Although the real cause of the attack was not very clear, several investigations pointed to a planned German sabotage. Although not many people died, the impacts of the explosion were detrimental. It left hundreds of people injured and caused a massive destruction of property. References Altschuler, G.C. (2006). A Terrorist Attack on the City, 85 Years before Sept. 11. Retrieved from Bryant, D.L. (2009). The “Black Tom Island” incident Genesis of the US port security program. Retrieved from Groundspeak, Inc. (2011). Black Tom Island. Retrieved from Learnsomethingnewtoday.us. (2008). The Black Tom Explosion. Retrieved from Socyberty.com. (2009). An inside look at the July 30, 1916 explosion on Black Tom Island, New York. Retrieved from Unsolvedmysteries.com. (2011). Black Tom Island: The forgotten attack on New York. Retrieved from Waronyou.com. (2011). Black Tom Island explosion. Retrieved from Read More