Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-07-21
TEN KILLED AND
TWO WILL DIE IN
GUN EXPLOSION
Soldiers Wives and Children See
Them Meet Terrible Death
at Fort Monroe.
PASSAIC MAN AMONG
INJURED In ACCIDENT
Disaster Supposed to Have Been
Caused by Premature lgni-
ton of Charge.

WASHINGTON, Va, July 2l-Ten
artillerymen are known to have been
killed, two fatally injured and five
slightly injured as the result of the
blowing out of the gum -breech in Bat
terry De Roussy, at Fort Monroe this
morning.
An official report to the war depart
ment confirms the report.
The dead:
- Sergeant Marry G. Hess. Corporals
Charles o. Adkins and Albert Brad
ford. Privates Roy Dubbey, John w.
Chadwick, Cleve w. King, Alfred w.
Smith. Andy ]. Sullivan, James T.
Turner and H Adey.
Probably fatally injured:
Arlie Adey, Judd e. Hogan.
Slightly injured:
Second Lieutenant George L. Van
Deusen, Privates Orville T. Rainey,
Ellsworth Hoffman. Charles e. Parks
and William c. Sulzberger.
Bodies MangIed.
The accidents occurred at 10: o'clock
The bodies of the dead artillerymer
were terribly mangled The wounded
The disaster was witnessed by a num-
ber of prominent officers of the army
and navy, who were here to see the
battle practise. The wives and children
of several of the men killed were pres
ent and saw them meet a terrible death
The accident is supposed to have oc-
CURED in connection with coast artil-
lery target practise. in which shore bat
n. a 49, ff,xxrr n
up Hampton Roads. in such manner as
to be comparable to battleships. The
shore guns were to be engaged in battle
practise with the moving fleet which
was towed UP Hampton Roads about
four miles out, and supposed to repre-
sent a hostile fleet sailing up the Poto-
mac to attack Washington.
According to plans of officers Of the
Coast Artillery the firing tests were -tf
be conducted on a larger scale than
had ever been attempted anywhere. II
was planned to have five batteries OF
ten and twelve-inch guns concentrate
their fire on the target fleet and de-
molish it as quickly as possible. 1t was
intended also to bring the mortars into
play. Ships of the Coast Artillery were
to tow the target. Each was thirty feet
high and sixty feet long and repre-
sented a section of battleship.
~ Omcers In Charge.
Thirty officers. who have recently
been graduated from the artillery
school at Fortress Monroe, were to be
in charge of the tests.
Major General Leonard Wood, chief
of staff of the army, had gone to see
the tests and it was his first official in
spection of any maneuvers since he as
sumed his new office a few days ago
A large number of other, officers had
gone from the war department to see
the firing. Among them were Bri5a-
der General William Crozier, chief OF
ordnance; Brigadier- General James B.
Aieshire, quartermaster-g Brig
adier-General William L. Bixby, the
new chief<of engineers, and many Off
GERS of the general staff.
officers of the coast artillery here
gave as their unofficial opinion that
the explosion was caused by the igni-
ton of the charge before the breech
lock had been closed, and probably was
caused by the wind blowing down the
mouth of the gun. No official report
has been received at the war depart
ment, and the acknowledgements office
at 1890 o'clock was trying to reach
Fortress Monroe by long-distance tele-
phone.