Yesterday I Learned (YIL) - Alum Cline Explosion

 

Alum Chine Explosion
Curtis Bay, MD
March 7, 1913

While watching the WBC final last night, as Team USA snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to a very hungry and enthusiastic Venezuelan team, I learned something really interesting. I learned that on March 7, 2013 the explosive equivalent of a tactical nuclear weapon (350 tons of TNT) detonated in Curtis Bay near Baltimore.

The full story is posted at: 

350 Tons of Dynamite Explode in Curtis Bay

This story was written during 2022 and based on a 2020 article written by Rick Forgo. 

Alum Chine
Undated Photo from Maritime Journal

I had thought that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge during March 2024 and the Great Baltimore Fire of February 1904 were the only significant disasters that happened in and around Baltimore.

But then I learned about the Alum Chine explosion. The freighter Alum Chine was at anchor near Curtis Bay being loaded with 350 tons of dynamite bound for Panama and the Canal construction when a fire started and the cargo detonated. 

One of the worst worst maritime disasters in Baltimore history occurred when a stevedore aboard the British cargo steamer Alum Chine accidentally set off a blasting cap in the ship’s hold that ignited 350 tons of dynamite on Friday, March 7, 1913. The resulting fire set off a series of earthshaking explosions in the Patapsco River that killed 33 men, injured another 60, and shook buildings as far north as Philadelphia. (Rick Forgo Article about the Disaster)

So, how did this excursion into history come about? Well, it is my son Patrick's fault. He did some research about a local cemetery and discovered that some victims of the explosion were buried there. But of course, we knew nothing of the explosion and that started this foray into history. 

Curiosity is a good thing. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL