Explosion

On the night of July 29, 1916 German saboteurs snuck past the soldiers on watch at Bedloe’s Island and proceeded to Black Tom. They approached the island and easily snuck past the eight guards on duty, placing explosives and setting small fires all over before hastily leaving. At 2:08 A.M. on Sunday July 30, 1916 the timed bombs detonated and the ensuing explosion ripped through the Black Tom railyard. Fires began to spread to the munitions laden railcars and warehouses. Some of the men on the island called for the fire department but most ran away as they knew what would happen if the flames ignited the numerous stacks of gunpowder, dynamite, and ammunition. The initial blast shattered all the windows on Black Tom and surrounding islands and woke up anyone nearby. Captain Alfred T. Clifton, commander of Company G of the United States Army Signal Corps, and was in charge of the soldiers on Bedloe’s Island. When he was awoken by the blast he immediately ordered that the two officers in charge have the bugler sound the general alarm. His first priority was to get all the women and children to safety, luckily most of them were already awake from the explosion and making their way to the parade grounds. He ordered that they make for the base of the Statue of Liberty where they could be easily looked after and have some protection from an explosion. This quick thinking likely saved lives.