William E. Van Dyke died helping to save Charles Davies and assisting in an attempt to save an unidentified man from an explosion, Baltimore, Maryland, March 7, 1913. Van Dyke, 35, captain, and his crew of three men were in a tug, waiting beside a ship in the Patapsco River while stevedores transferred dynamite from a car float to the hold of the ship. A small explosion occurred in the hold of the ship, and a fire started. The workmen at once became panic-stricken and fled. Some got on Van Dyke’s tug, and the tug was moved away from the ship at full speed. Other men got on a launch and were taken to safety. Van Dyke got his tug 450 feet from the ship, and then it was discovered that two men were on the bow of the ship. Van Dyke and his engineer decided to try to get the men, and the tug was turned and run full speed toward the ship. Dense black smoke was pouring from the hatches of the ship, and the smoke and flames increased in volume rapidly. Van Dyke and his crew knew the nature of the cargo on the ship. Some of the refugees who had boarded the tug begged Van Dyke not to go to the ship, and they asked the engineer not to respond to Van Dyke’s signals. Davies, 22, seaman, was one of the men on the ship, but Van Dyke and his crew did not know either of the men. The bow of the tug was run beneath Davies and his companion, who had got down on the anchor chain, and they dropped onto the tug. The tug was then backed at full speed. It was about 75 feet from the ship when the dynamite exploded with terrific force, utterly demolishing the ship. Debris fell at a distance of two miles and killed persons on shore. Van Dyke, one of his crew, the man who had been with Davies, and six others were killed. Davies, two members of Van Dyke’s crew, and other men on the tug were badly injured. 10333-1060
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