Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-08-24
The BENNINGTON
COURTS REPORT
HndS Disaster on GunbOat Was Caused
. by Excessive Steam Pressure,
FIREMAN SHUT WRONG VALVE
Broke Connection With Steam Gauge In
stead of Air Cock as Direeted-Men
Responsible Killed in the ExplOS-

Washington, Aug. 21.-Secretary
Bonaparte today made public the pro-
ceedings of the court of inquiry which
investigated the explosion on the gun
boat Bennington at San Diego, CAL, on
July 21. The findings were complete
surprise, for they at once set at rest
the stories that had been calculated to
the effect that the Bennington's boilers,
snd perhaps those of other naval YES
{ sells of the same age, were defective.
AS a matter of fact, the court found
the explosion resulted from the closing
> of a valve which connected the explod-
ed boiler with its steam gauge, so that
the pressure of that boiler may have
been several hundred pounds to the
square inch when the accident occurred.
While praise was accorded to the Of
fcers and ships company for their con-
duct during the narrowing scenes fol-
lowing the accident, the officers and
men who were responsible, in the opin-
ion of the court, are pointed out and
eourt-martial proceedings suggested IN
the case of the only one of them sur
viving, Ensign Chas. T. Wade.
The finding of the court says in part;
"About 9:20 on July 21st, after both
boilers had been filled and the furnaces
started, it was observed that the steam
gauge on boiler "B" showed about five
pounds of steam pressure, and at this
time Oiler Frank De Courtenai, acting
as water tender, directed D. N. Hol-
land, fireman, second class, to close the
= air cock on boiler "B," that the said
Holland climbed up and closed valve
and almost Immediately the steam
gauge on boiler "B'' failed to register;
this was apparently not noticed by
either the water tender or the fireman
and no attention appears to have been
paid to the fact that the steam gauge
failed to register, but they kept on
working the fires and firing heavily;
that when the steam gauge on boiler
GA" showed 1875 pounds there was no
pressure showing on the steam gauge
of boiler "B.
The find then goes on to state that
about 1890 o'clock small leak was
found in boiler "B." A request had
been sent to the boilermaker to come
and attend to the leak when the explo-
sion occurred.
The opinion of the court follows:
"The court is of the opinion that the
explosion was caused by excessive
steam pressure in boiler B. which
came about, first, by shutting the valve
connecting the boiler with the steam
gauge, instead of the valve on the all
cock alone as was intended, so that the
steam gauge did not indicate the pressure
in the boiler; second, by unusual and
hervy firing in the boiler to get up q
pressure which the gauge failed to show
third, by the failure of the sentinel and
safety valves to lift at the pressure fol
which they were set, and the pressure
increased without relief until it was be-
yond the strength of the boiler, which
gave way in it's weakest part, after
wards found to be the corrugated fue
of No. 2, the lowest or middle furnace,
which collapsed.
"The court is also of the opinion that
D. N. Holland, fireman, second class,
who was the fireman on duty firing
boiler 'B' at, and before, the time OF
the explosion did, by mistake, shut of
the steam valve connecting boiler b
with its steam gauge, instead OF the
air cock, as directed. thus preventing
y the gauge from recording the steam
pressure in its boiler; that Frank De
Courtenai, oiler, acting tender, on
watch in charge of this boiler from
about 9:15 a. m. until the time OF the
explosion, did fail to observe that this
steam gauge was not recording and did
continue pushing the fires on this boil
er, and further, when leaks developed