Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-22

Ellsworth W. Hoffman. Pittsburg,
Pa. :
Charles f. Parks.
Orvilie I. Rainy. Findlay, Ohio.
W. C. Sulzberger, Fort Monroe
Ijeut George L. Van Deusen, Passaic
y. J.
bradford and Atkins were married and
leave families. All the wounded are
unmarried
Following the explosion the wounded
were rushed to the hospital with mill
tary promptitude, and Maj. Reynolds
and his corps of surgeons and assist
ants speedily attended to their wounds.
AS fast as the dead could be placed on
stretchers-three wagonloads of them
they were taken to the morgue TO De
prepared for burial.
Heroism of Officers.
The toll of DEATH it is believed, would
have been larger had it not been for the
heroism displayed by the officers and
men I'm the battery. The wounded forgot
their hurts and aided the uninjured in
stamping out the burning powder that
threatened the sacks in which the charge
for a second shot had been brought up.
The gun was in charge of Capt. James
Prentice who had with him Lieut.. George
p. Halves, jr., and Lieut.. George L. Van
Deusen.
Lieut.. Halves had gone forward from
the breech TO examine the range wheel
when the charge was exploded. He
thrown down and momentarliy
stunned, but was otherwise uninjured-
Capt. Prentice and Lieut.. Halves fore
saw further sacrifice of life II the
other charges caught from the smoldering
sparks. They sent out a call for sur
geons while they attacked the names
with their bare hands.
Capt Prentice reached the emplacement
drst. and before looking into the extent
f the damage he pushed his way through
me smoke and sparks and carried out a
az of powder. He was then Joined by
,iawes and the two completed the task
averting further explosion.
Van Deusen Declines Aid.
During this time Lieut.. Van Deusen lay
.rumpled beneath the gun, his leg bro
zen in two places. He was sunerins
a.onies When his brother officers sought
20 remove him he would not permit them
10 touch him. however.
See to the men first" he said, and,
dropped against the gun carnage, ne
aided in directing the work OF the rescue
party and the surgeons.
Corp. Humphreys and Sergt. Brinkiey,
a gun pointer also distinguished them
selves The formers head, body ana
arms were struck by pieces OF nylns COLI
,.Iacement when the explosion came In
rpite of his painful wounds he rushed 10
lis dead and wounded comrades. extin-
.cished their burning clothing ana then
i.urried to the. encampment near oy ior
water.
Seret BrinkIey was close to the breecn
when IL blew out He was hurled over
the right standard. and when he regalnea
consciousness he found himself hanging
Inv one arm from the railing OF the slsht-
ing platform.
Although severely bruised and suffering
from the shock. Brinkley declined 10 90
TO the hospital or permit the surgeons ~
examine him until after ne hao aesis'e"
in the work of rescue.
J-nconsumed powder which. as IT enters
the gun is in big hard grains, dld most on
the killing and wounding Oniy tne
hreech block waJ blown from the DIE gun.
and that is not known TO nave sp bread out
Immediately on leaving the gun moved
down everything within reach.
All in Pit Killed or Wounded.
An army officer who made an examtpa-
ton of the gunpit gives this explanation
of what must have happened.
All the men in the pit were either
killed or wounded, sixteen OF them Two
detachments totaling twenty-one men,
we're serving the gun. OF those not in the
pit when the explosion occurred all save
one, who was sighting the gun, were IN
the ammunition room.
While gun 3 has been in service for
several years 1t had not been fired yes
terday before the accident 1t was oelng
prepared for its first shot at the targets.
AS to the cause of the cccident few ON
GERS will venture an opinion Ihey
frankly confess 1t Is mystery TO them.
The usual theory that 1t was caused oy
unextinguished sparks in the breeeh OF
the gun will not hold here. as the gun
not having been previously fired, could
have had no sparks in it: The proJectile
which the charge OF powder was 10 drlVe
out remains in the gun
The cause of the explosion may never
he known, as it Is the belief OF o1cers
that all who were near enough 10 the
breech OF the gun to observe operations
there were killed. The breech of the gun.
which Is on a disappearing carriage. was
not out of the pit when the explosion
occurred. else the damage would have
been small The gun was probably being
raised into position for discharge
Col. Townships Theory.
Col. c. p. Townsley. commandant of
the fort, promptly ordered an investiga-
ton. While no decision had been reached,
COL TOWnSIey advanced MS tucOE! VI tHS
disaster.
ut is evident" said he. that the ex-
plosion occurred during the insertion of
the breech lock into the breech of the
gun and before it had been rotated and
locked in place.
1.-THE safety devices on the gun are in
tended to make premature discharge
impossible. Just how they failed to OPP
crate will probably never be known to a
certainty Every member of the detach-
ment who could explain IL was killed
THE premature discharge of the gun
NAV have been caused by the accidental
pulling OF the cord which Is used in firing,
either through being caught in the mech
anism of the gun or through one of the
men. in his haste. pulling 1t before the
block was in place"
Assisting in the investigation are some
Of the leading officers of the army. who
were present at the time of the explosion
II was one of the many big ones which
were in the five batteries being used to
repel the aginary feet. 1t was what
is known as battle practice. which taxes
place at the fort about once a year, but
yesterday it was planned to conduct it
on a more extensive scale than ever be-
fore In any country.
High Officials Looking On.
There to witness operations were Gen.
Crozier chief of ordnance of the army:
Mai Gen. w. Fl. Carter assistant chief
of staff; Gen. Arthur Murray, chief Of
the Coast Artillery; Gen. Bailey, chief