The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-16
EIGHT ARE DEAD.
Disaster on the BattIeship
Georgia Was Appalling.
Much Worse Than the Early
Reports Indicated.
CAUSED BY A SPARK
Falling Upon Sack of 100
Pounds of Powder.
The Gunners Saw 1t But Could
Not Get Away.

and thirteen injured is the grim record
of the result of the powder explosion
on the battleship Georgia yesterday.
Six were dead when the battleship
reached here, and two more, one of
them Lieutenant Caspar Goodrich of
Bro ooklyn, N. Y, son of Rear Admiral
Goodrich, died later at the hospital
The accident occurred shortly be-
fore noon while the Georg1a's crew
were at target practice off Barnstab1e
in Cape Cod bay. In some manner,
two bags of powder became ignited
and in the terrible flash that follow
ed the entire turret crew, consisting of
three officers and eighteen men, were
enveloped in fire and received horrible
burns, one officer and five men dying
before the ship reached port. The
victims of the accident:
The Dead
LIEUTENANT CASPER GOOD
| RICH, Brooklyn. n. Y.
midshipman, Kentucky.
VIM. J. THATCHER, chief turret
captain, Wilmington, Del.
VIM. JOSEPH BURKE, seaman,
GEORGE G. HAMILTON, ordin-
airy seaman. South Framingham,
Mass.
GEORGE E. MILLER, ordinary
seaman, Brooklyn, N. Y.
WILLIAM NJ. THOMAS, seaman.
Newport, r. /.
WILLIAM PAIR, Brooklyn.
Seriously Injured.
Cruise, James T., midshipman, Ne
braska; hands and face burned, very
seriously.
Schlapp. Frank, boatswain's mate.
second class, North Adams, Mass;
back, chest. arms and face burned.
Hanseu, Charles. sgunners mate,
first class. New York; face and hands
burned.
Taglund. Oriey, chief yeoman. Rich
ford, Mimi; arms. back and face
walsh. Edward T.. seaman, Lynn,
Mass; chest and race burned; fatally
Bush, John A, ordinary seaman,
New York; face, arms and chest
burned; probably fatally.
Eich. Charles l., ordinary seaman,
Frankfort, Ind; face, arms and hands
burned.
Fone. John A, ordinary seaman,
Southwick, Mass: two-thirds of body
burned.
Gilbert. Harold L.. ordinary sea-
man Southwick, Mass: two-thirds of
body burned.
MaIeck, John c., ordinary seaman,
Cleveland; arms and face burned.
Berea, O.; arms, face and chest
burned.
Rosenberger Samuel L., ordinary
seaman. Philadelphia; arms and face
burned.
Thomas, James P. ordinary sea-
man, Brooklyn, n. Y; face. arms,
chest and back burned; fatally.
Four other men received minor in
juries. Their names were not given
out and they were not taken off the
ship,
Details of the Accident.
superimposed turret, where the men,
under command of Lieutenant Caspar
Goodrich, son of Rear Admiral Good
rich, commandant of the New York
navy yard. and Midshipmen Faulkner,
Goldthwaite and James 7. Cruise, were
operating the eight-inch guns.
The guns in the forward turret had
finished eight rounds of practice and
the guns of the after turret had fired
one round. Two cases. as the big 100
pound bags of powder are called, had
just been sent up through te ammuni-
ton hoist and were in the arms of
the loader whose name was withheld
by the ships officers. The loader
| stood at the breech of one of the s.
inch guns all ready to insert the
charge. At this instant the air was
seen to be smoky and two men who
stood near the loader saw black
spot on the bag. indicating that the
charge had ignited and was shoulder
ing. The loader discovered the spot
at the same instant and threw himself
forward on his face, at the same time
shouting a warning to his turret
mates The other men who had seen
the spot were Eich and Hansell, and
they also threw themselves on the
floor of the turret.
Before the other men in the turret
could understand what caused the load
er's cry of warning, there was a binding
flash as the burning powder exploded.
Flames, smoke and nauseous gases fill
ed the little superstructure, in which
more than a score of men were confined.
AS the powder was not confined there
was no report, nor did the vessel suffer
any injury, but every nook and Granny
of the turret was filled with flames The
loader who was of course, nearest the
powder was terribly burned as was
every other man in the turret, with the
exception of Eich and HanseH who al
though scorched, escaped with injuries
much less severe than the others
Jumped Into Sea-
Blinded by the smoke and flames,
choked by the arid penetrating gaseous
fumes, and maddened with pain. the
men screamed in agony. Some stagger-
ed blindly up tn ladder to the hatchway
in the top of the turret, while others
crept along the turret floor, begging
piteously for assistance. Lieutenant
Goodrich and Seaman Maleck became
crazed, staggered up the iron ladder to
the top of the turret and then threw
themselves headlong into the sea in a
despairing effort to choose a death by
drowning in preference to death by slow
fire.
When the smoke of the burning pow
der had cleared away the shipmates of
the unfortuna te men rushed to their as
sistance and tenderly the suffering sail
ors were lifted out of the fire -blacken-