Ordnance Depot goes Boom!

[5fish]

The unintentional explosion of the Confederate ordnance depot at Mobile, AL, which cause $ 5,000,000 in damages to buildings, boats, etc. 20 tons of gunpowder causes approximately 300 casualties.

Here an article about this event...

300 Alabamians killed 151 years ago today

May 25, 1865 was a dark time in Mobile.

www.al.com

The occupying Northern Army had established an ordnance depot at the Corner of Commerce and Lipscomb streets to house confiscated Confederate ammunition. In all, the depot housed more than 200 tons of explosives, ammunition and gunpowder.

The first sign of trouble at the depot was on the afternoon of May 25 when black smoke was seen rising above the warehouse. Soon, the ground began to shake and suddenly, flames shot up in the sky and massive explosions were heard as the shells succumbed to the heat and flames. Accounts at the time reported flying timbers, bales of cotton, horses, men, women and children.

Here another Image...

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM70628

 

[5fish]

Here a cool list of all the ordnances on ships going boom, form 1800's... It was a lot of ships over that time...

Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action

Note: Data are based on incomplete and sometimes conflicting sources. Official US Navy sources have been used when they are available in the collection of the Navy Department Library. The date provided at the end of each entry is the date of the accident/incident, rather than the date of death...

www.history.navy.mil

 

[5fish]

An ammunition plant explosion and President Lincoln attained the funeral of the 21 girls that died in the explosion...

Fireworks, Hoopskirts—and Death

Explosion at a Union Ammunition Plant Proved Fatal for 21 Women Spring 2012, Vol. 44, No. 1 By Jay Bellamy Enlarge The U.S. Arsenal, north front, interior court, between 1861 and 1865. (Library of Congress) War is an industry, creating jobs for those willing and able to fill them. As the Civil...

www.archives.gov

Young women and teenage girls, some as young as 13 years old, were often selected for this kind of work, as it was believed their smaller fingers better enabled them to pack the ammunition once it was assembled. Many of these workers were children of Irish immigrants, who found it necessary to send their children off to earn the small wages these jobs provided. Working conditions at the arsenal were less than ideal. With black powder spread throughout the building, it was only a matter of time before disaster would strike.

...

At 3:15 p.m. the funeral procession—which by some estimates included nearly 150 carriages and stretched for nearly a mile—left the grounds of the arsenal and began its journey toward Congressional Cemetery. After private family services, the coffin containing the body of 13-year-old Sallie McElfresh joined the procession once it reached F Street. Lincoln’s personal carriage followed behind the hearses carrying the remains of the other victims.
...

Lincoln was not asked to and did not speak at either the arsenal service or at the graveside.

 

[5fish]

Here is an ordnance depot in Richmond that killed and wounded young girls...

The Brown’s Island Explosion in Richmond and its Victims

The home front could be deadly at times. Read about the tragic story of an ammunition factory explosion on Brown's Island in Richmond.

www.civilwarmed.org

They repair and put out another call for young girls...

On April 4th, the Laboratory was repaired and back in operation, and a call went out for 200 girls, but they had to be over age 15. Greater oversight ensured that there was never another accident for the remainder of the war.

 

[5fish]

Here an article that explores two of the explosions mention in this thread...

Brown’s Island | A Tale of Two Explosions