Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-08-10
SHELL TRAGEDY WAS
UNAVOIDABLE, DECLARE
AUTHORITIES ON SCENE
Four Victims of Explosive, One
a Woman, Not in Direct Aim
of ArtiIIey-ProjectiIe Must
Have DETECTED

Deeply affected and somewhat sobered
by the tragedy of late Wednesday after
noon in which a white woman and three
negroes were killed and another negro
seriously injured as a result Of the ex-
plosion of a richocheting shell fred
from a three-inch gun, the student Off
GERS of Fort Mcpherson packed their
mud-lined and. rain-soaked belongings
Thursday morning and marched to a
site near Smyrna, where they will be
encamped Thursday night.
The long brown caravan passed out of
Marietta in the direction of the new
camp site, leaving behind the grief
stricken and enfeebled husband of Mrs.
Lillian Harris, whose breast was torn
and mangled by a fragment of she'll;
the saddened families of the dead ne
groes, who had been listening to the
boom of the cannon; the silent tree
bearing the marks of the tragic explo-
sion, and the grim. purple mountain.
which failed to stop the improved in
strument of death.
A coroner's inquest over the bodies of
the accident victims was scheduled
held at the Cobb county courthouse
at o'clock Thursday afternoon, while
all Thursday morning Herbert Clay. So
licitor of the Blue Ridge circuit; Sher-
if Swanson, of Cobb county, and Off
GERS connected with the training camp
force were busy investigating the exact
cause of the tragedy and all the circum-
stances surrounding it.
The dead are: -.
MRS. LILLIAN HARRIS, aged Nhir-
ty-one, wife of Seth Harris. a brake
man on the Louisville and Nashville.
JIM HOLLOMAN, Jr., aged seven
teen. torn to pieces by fragments
CHARLES MARTIN, aged forty-fiye,
wounds in skull and body.
jim HOLLOMAN, Sr., both legs and
arms taken off. Died at Nolan's sani-
tarium at 10 o'clock Wednesday night.
1 The injured: -. s- 49,.
Jim Coleman, left foot torn. VIII re-
cover.
All the negroes were farm laborers.
The authorities of Cobb county and
the Marietta people were inclined
Thursday to regard the accident as
something that was entirely unavoid-
able, something that would not happen
again in a hundred years, but some
thing that causes tremendous and over
whelming sorrow in the entire conn
munity.
The military board, composed of
Lieutenant Colonel Lyle Brown, Major
Anderson and Captain Gary. which was
appointed by Colonel Charles r. Noyes,
commander of the training camp, was
on the spot Thursday where the guns
were stationed during the target prac-
tice which had such a fatal ending, and
after a careful and thorough investiga-
tion of the matter a report will be
made by Colonel Brown.
All of the companies of infantry left
the Marietta encampment site Thurs
day morning, and the three batteries of
artillery were expected to follow Thurs
day afternoon. Wednesdays tragedy,
while thoroughly regrettable in every
respect will not shorten the scheduled
nine-day hike. and the students will
not return to their squad rooms at Fort
Mcpherson before noon Saturday.
A detailed report of the tragedy will
be made by Colonel Noyes to the head
quarters of the department of the
southeast, at Charleston. S. c..
STATEMENTS COMPILED.
From the statements of the officers
who were directing and assisting the
fire of the artillery, from the state
ments OF Judge n. A. Morris, of Ma
rietta, and Sheriff Swanson, of Cobb
county. who arrived on the scene short
ly after the accident, and from the
statement of the negro. Jim Coleman,
III the Nus pLldlt tie dCCOuHl VI "iAd(
happened and the sequence of its ac-
surence is compiled
The first battery of student artillery
to go into action Wednesday completed
all of it's firing in the morning. The
second battery, under the direction OF
Lieutenant John E. McMahan, Field
Artillery, L. S. A, began its practice
about o'clock in the afternoon.
The targets at which this battery was
f3ri a short
range for artillery, being around 1000
yards, and they were so situated that
the towering mountain side interposed
an effectual barrier to the normal flight
of either shell or shrapnel.
AS is customary before range prac-
tice begins range party Of twenty-four
men was sent out to warn all onlook-
ers and laborers from outside of what
might possibly be a danger zone. 1t is
also the business of this range party to
chase all cattle out of danger and be-
fore the first shot is fired in prac-
tice, this range party must first report,
by telephone and by raising a white
flag, that the range is clear. -----
PRECAUTIONS WERE TAKEN.
A second customary precaution which
was, of course taken in this instance
was the establishment of a safety Off
Ger at the battery. 1t is the duty of this
safety officer to watch each gun and see
that the correct range and detection as
teIephoned down by the battery COM
n1ander is set off by the gunner. 1t is
his duty also to see that the elevation
and horizontal position of the gun will
not project a shot outside of the pre-
scribed limits of the range, whether or
not the cannoneers have set of their
data correctly.
According to Lieutenant Mcmahon, the
battery fired about 100 rounds during
the afternoon. The last rounds fired
were high-explosive shells, and were
fired by battery salvo-that is, one gun
fired after the other at intervals of
about two seconds.
After completion of practice, the bat
terry limbered up and went back to
camp.
Now, a high-explosive shell explodes
.~~<A.S - va. - ray