Black Tom explosion
| Black Tom explosion | |
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Black Tom pier shortly after the explosion
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| Location | Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |
| Coordinates | 40°41′32″N 074°03′20″W / 40.69222°N 74.05556°WCoordinates: 40°41′32″N 074°03′20″W / 40.69222°N 74.05556°W |
| Date | July 30, 1916 2:08:00 a.m. (EST; GMT−5) |
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Attack type
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Sabotage |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Perpetrators | Imperial German agents |
The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy American-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. This incident, which happened prior to formal American entry into the war, is also notable for causing damage to the Statue of Liberty.
The term "Black Tom" originally referred to an island in New York Harbor next to Liberty Island. The island received its name from an early black resident. By 1880, a causeway and railroad had been built to connect it with the mainland to use as a shipping depot. Between 1905 and 1916, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which owned the island and causeway, expanded the island with landfill, and the entire area was annexed by Jersey City. A mile-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company.
Black Tom was a major munitions depot for the northeastern United States. Until early 1915, American munitions companies could sell to any buyer. After the Blockade of Germany by the Royal Navy, however, only the Allied powers could purchase from them. As a result, Imperial Germany sent secret agents to the United States to obstruct the production and delivery of war munitions that were intended to be used by its enemies.
On the night of the attack, about 2,000,000 lb (1000 tons) of small arms and artillery ammunition were stored at the depot in freight cars and on barges, including 100,000 pounds of TNT on the Johnson Barge No. 17. All was waiting to be shipped to Russia. 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 towing charge."
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Wikipedia