Black Tom Explosion

Black Tom Explosion. Liberty State Park. , You are standing on a site which saw one of the worse acts of sabotage in American history! , Prior to the U.S. entering world war one, the shoreline on which you now stand was occupied by an extensive munitions depot operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The area was referred to as Black Tom Island and was the largest munitions depot in the country, supplying shipments to both the Allied and German forces., On July 30, 1916, the depot exploded in flames, rocking New York Harbor and sending residents tumbling from their beds. The noise of the explosion was heard as far away as Maryland and Connecticut. On Ellis Island, terrified immigrants were evacuated by ferry to the Battery in Lower Manhattan. Shrapnel pierced the Statue of Liberty, damaging the torch. Property damage was estimated at $20 million. , While the exact number of casualties is not known, Jersey City Patrolman James Doherty and Lehigh Valley Railroad Police Chief Cornelius Leyden were among those killed as a result of the explosion. Initial investigations declared the explosion was an accident, but after seventeen years of deliberation, Germany would be found responsible. The sabotage at Black Tom was in retaliation to the British naval blockade of munitions to Germany.