The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-07-26
BIG GUN EXPLOSION
KILLS II SOLDIERS
Breech Blows Out in Target
Practice at Fortress Monroe.
HERoIsM OF THE WOUNDED
One Officer Among the Six Injured,
One of Whom May Die-Rigid
Inquiry Ordered by the War De-
partment.

Fortress Monroe. Va. Eleven men
of the Coast Artillery we're killed by
the blowing out of breech block in
one of the big guns while the fort was
engaged in target practice. Six 9th
ers we're sent to the post hospital
wounded.
The exact cause of the explosion
was not definitely determined, al
though a board of inquiry was APP
pointed Immediately after the acct
dent by orders from the War Depart
ment at Washington, D. G.
The dead:
Sergeant Harry G.. Hess, of Phoebus,
Va. gun commander.
Corporal Charles o. Adkins, address
unknown
Corporal Albert Bradford, Dorothy,
w. Va
Private A. j. Sullivan, Perkins, Ky.
Private Roy Duffy Kenova, w. Va.
Private H. Adey, Brandonville, W. Va.
Private G. w. King, Dayton, Ohio.
Private John W. Chadwick, Tazewell,
Tenn.
Private Alfred w. Smith, New York.
Private Judd e. Hogan, Geyer, Ohio.
Private James H. Turner, Ripley, Tenn.
The injured are;
Private Arlie Adey, fatally.
Second Lieutenant George L. Van
Deusen.
Private Orville r. Rainey
Private Ellsworth Hoffman.
Private Charles e. Parks.
Private William G. Sulzberger
The toll of death, it is believed
would have been larger had it not
been for the heroism displayed, both
by the officers and men in 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
second shot had been brought up.
The explosion took place in Battery
De Russy, No. gun doing the dam
age. The gun was in charge of Cap
tain James Prentice, who had with
him Lieutenants George P. Halves,
Jr., and George l.. Van Deusen. Lieu
tenant Halves had gone forward from
the breech to examine the range
wheel when the charge was exploded.
He was thrown down and momenta-
rily stunned, but was otherwise unin-
jured
In the thick, heavy smoke the scene
was almost understandable, Eight men
were killed outright, their bodies ly-
ing scattered around the emplace-
ment. Under the pail the wounded
writhed and moaned.
Captain Prentice and Lieutenant
Halves foreSaw further sacrifice of
life If the other charges caught from
the smoldering sparks, and the two
sent out call for surgeons, while
they attacked the fire with their bare
hands
Captain Prentice reached the en-
placement first, and before looking
into the extent of the damage he
pushed his way through the smoke
sparks and carried out a bag of pow
der. He then was Joined by Halves
and the two completed the task of
averting further explosion.
Lieutenant Van Deusen lay crum-
pied beneath the gun, his leg broken
in two places He was suffering in
tensely, but when his brother officers
sought to remove him he would not
permit them to touch him,
See to the men first" he ordered,
and, propped against the gun carriage,
he aided in directing the work of the
rescue party and the surgeons.
Corporal Humphreys and Sergeant
Brinkley, a gun pointer, also distin-
guished themselves. The formers
head, body and arms were filled with
pieces of flying concrete that had been
blown from the emplacement when
the explosion took place. In spite of
his wounds he rushed to his dead and
wounded comrades extinpuished their
burning clothing and then hurried to
the nearby encampment for water.
Sergeant Brinkley was close to the
breech when it blew out. He was
hurled over the right standard, and
when he regained consciousness he
found himself hanging by one arm
from the railing of the sighting plat
form. Although severely bruised and
suffering from the shock, Brinkley de-
clined to go to the hospital or permit
the surgeons to examine him until af-
ter they had assisted in the work of
rescue.
Colonel c. p Townsley, command
ant of the fort, promptly ordered an
investigation,
1T is evident" he said, that the
explosion occurred during the inser-
ton OF the breech block into the
breech of the gun, and before it had
been rotated and locked in place. The
safety devices on the gun are intend
ed to make premature discharge
impossible. Just how they failed to
operate probably never will be known
to certainty. Every member of the
detachment who could explain it was
killed.