On June 17, 1864 an explosion at the Washington Arsenal in Washington, D.C. killed 21 women. Most were young, Irish immigrants who made the explosives used by the Union during the Civil War.
The explosion was covered widely in the press, including South Carolina’s Camden Daily Journal. On the day of the explosion the 3rd edition of the local Evening Star was already mentioning a probable cause and it later published a list of some of the names of the deceased. A coroner’s inquest was convened on the evening of the 17th and an article reporting on it provided more information, including the testimony of Thomas Brown, who was both a pyrotechnist and the Superintendent. The evidence and testimony from Brown and others indicated that Brown had placed a number of star flares to dry in a metallic pan close to the building where the women were working. That pan absorbed heat from the sun, heating the flares which eventually exploded – shooting many into the women’s workplace (called the choking room).
blogs.loc.gov
The explosion was covered widely in the press, including South Carolina’s Camden Daily Journal. On the day of the explosion the 3rd edition of the local Evening Star was already mentioning a probable cause and it later published a list of some of the names of the deceased. A coroner’s inquest was convened on the evening of the 17th and an article reporting on it provided more information, including the testimony of Thomas Brown, who was both a pyrotechnist and the Superintendent. The evidence and testimony from Brown and others indicated that Brown had placed a number of star flares to dry in a metallic pan close to the building where the women were working. That pan absorbed heat from the sun, heating the flares which eventually exploded – shooting many into the women’s workplace (called the choking room).
“An almost inexcusable catastrophe” – Explosion at the Washington Arsenal | Inside Adams
A short blog post about the explosion at the Washington Arsenal June 17, 1864.
blogs.loc.gov
