The United States had been in World War I, a conflict that threw the world into a series of conflict. The munitions that brought such destruction as the soldiers did themselves; in the United States. During this time production plants popped up everywhere across the U.S. in an attempt to meet the product demand of the war.Like many places around the world one small town was changed by the need for munitions. Morgan, New Jersey in that October of 1918 would feel the horrors being delivered overseas when a massive explosion rocked the central coastline, plunging it into a raging inferno.On Oct. 4, 1918, explosions rocked the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in New Jersey, killing scores of people and destroying the largest munitions factory in the world. The T.A. …show more content…
The fire and explosions lasted for two days and were felt as far away as Newark. More than 30 million pounds of explosives were set off, damaging many houses and killing as many as 87 people.Damage was estimated at $18 million. An article in the New York Tribune described the destruction: “Besides the heavier blasts, caused by entire buildings exploding, there was the additional horror of shellfire. Hundreds of loaded shells were set off by the flames and soared through the air like monster rockets, exploding in the streets and over the roofs.”Damage was estimated at $18 million. An article in the New York Tribune described the destruction: “Besides the heavier blasts, caused by entire buildings exploding, there was the additional horror of shellfire. Hundreds of loaded shells were set off by the flames and soared through the air like monster rockets, exploding in the streets and over the roofs.”Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in surrounding towns as a result of the