The Great Halifax Explosion
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Source Notes
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Part I: A Forgotten Story
Chapter 1: A Century of Gratitude
4“Why do we have to stop . . .”: “Nova Scotians Learn the Christmas Tree for Boston Is Far from Free,” Boston Globe, November 28, 2016.
Chapter 2: Under Cover of Darkness
6“Captain Aimé Joseph Marie Le Médec . . .”: Michael Bird, The Town That Died, Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1962, pp. 3–4.
6“copper nails . . .”: Bird, The Town that Died, pp. 4–6.
7“one of the largest caches of high explosives . . .”: Mont-Blanc cargo contents, A. Ruffman and C. D. Howell, Ground Zero: A Reassessment of the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbour, Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 1994, appendix p. 296.
9“a policy reinforced by posters . . .”: Ibid., p. 10.
10“Captain Le Médec met again . . .”: Joel Zemel, Scapegoat: The Extraordinary Legal Proceedings Following the 1917 Halifax Explosion, Halifax: New World Publishing, 2012, p. 20.
13“Well, some of the pebbles . . .”: Ibid., Scapegoat, p. 19.
14“Back at McNab’s Island . . .”: Laura M. MacDonald, Curse of the Narrows, NYC: Walker and Company, 2005, pp. 16–17.
15“Few in Richmond were doing better . . .”: All stories of the Orr family come from two of Janet Kitz’s books: Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion and the Road to Recovery, Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 1989, and Survivors: Children of the Halifax Explosion, Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd. In this case, Shattered City, p. 17, and Survivors, p. 13.
16“Not so Joseph Ernest Barss . . .”: Except where noted, all of the information regarding Joseph Ernest Barss (not to be confused with Joseph Barss Jr., his great-grandfather) comes from his and his widow’s letters. When quoting specifically, the letters cited are dated.
17“As of that night . . .”: Blair Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, Halifax: Self, 1988, p. 15.
17“Nineteen-year-old Ethel Mitchell . . .”: Except where noted, all information regarding Ethel Mitchell comes from Kitz, Shattered City, and Kitz, Survivors. In this case, Shattered City, p. 11.
Part II: O Canada
Chapter 3: “Why Aren’t We Americans?”
21“the shape of the harbour . . .”: Donald Kerr, in Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, p. 365.
23“Halifax cemented its central role . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, display.
24“No sooner had the Rebels . . .”: Mark Stein, How the States Got Their Shapes, Smithsonian Books: Washington, DC, 2008, p. 123.
24“On June 18, 1812 . . .”: John Boileau, Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England, and the War of 1812, Halifax: Formac Publishing Ltd., 2005, pp. 15–16.
24“But the British turned things around . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, Halifax: 2000.
25“Halifax historian Thomas Akins . . .”: Boileau, Half-Hearted Enemies, p. 24.
26“It wasn’t easy . . .”: Ibid., pp. 51–58.
26“While the American press . . .”: Ibid., pp. 60–61.
28“Haligonians also feared . . .”: Thomas H. Raddall and Stephen Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, Halifax: Nimbus Publishing Ltd., updated edition, 2010, p. 194.
29“when two Union ships . . .”: Ibid., p. 196.
29“the highly respected Dr. Almon . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
29“Jock Fleming . . .”: from a Historical Society sign in Fisherman’s Cove, Dartmouth.
30“Captain Wood never forgot . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 197.
Chapter 4: Waking Up Just in Time
31“This perpetual fear . . .”: Ibid., pp. 193–202.
32“Canada could claim full credit . . .”: Diamond, Dan, et al., Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League, New York: Total Sports, 1998, p. 3–7.
33“In Canada’s 1911 national election . . .”: David MacKenzie and Patrice Dutil, Canada 1911: The Decisive Election that Shaped the Country, Toronto: Dundurn, 2011, pp. 9–11.
33“I look forward to the time . . .”: Chantal Allan, Bomb Canada and Other Unkind Remarks in the American Media, Edmonton: Athabasca University Press, 2009, pp. 17–18.
34“The beneficiary of this turmoil . . .”: Ibid., p. 26.
34“Reciprocity was finished off . . .”: MacKenzie and Dutil, Canada 1911, p. 211.
35“In 1901, Boston had . . .”: Glenn Stout, Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, A Championship Season, and Fenway’s Remarkable First
Year, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, p. 170.
35“When Red Sox owner John I. Taylor . . .”: Ibid., pp. 44–45.
36“Harold Cottam . . .”: http://www.titanicfacts.net/carpathia.html.
37“The Mackay-Bennett crew . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
38“haunted by all they had seen . . .”: Ibid.
Part III: The Great War
Chapter 5: As Near to Hell
43“No Canadian city . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, 2010, p. 242.
44“Britain’s enthusiasm . . .”: Michael Kazin, War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914–1918, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017, p. xii.
44“forming a line of trenches . . .”: Saul David, “How Germany Lost the WWI Arms Race,” BBC News, February 16, 2012, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17011607.
44“completely geared toward war . . .”: Ibid.
46“It is one of the dreariest landscapes . . .”: John Keegan, The First World War, New York: Vintage Books, 1998. p. 129.
48“must have been as near to hell . . .”: Ibid.
50“He was sort of a stocky fella . . .”: author interview with Dr. Joseph Andrew Barss, 1999.
50“Ernest graduated . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, date unknown. Barss family archives.
51“Every Saturday in warm weather . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, date unknown, Barss family archives.
52“Well, this is probably the last letter . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, April 4, 1915, Barss family archives.
53“There are only 53 left . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents April 30, 1915, Barss family archives.
54“Strange to say . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, April 4, 1915, Barss family archives.
Chapter 6: Halifax at War
55“Halifax sent 6,000 sons . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, pp. 247–48.
55“Black armbands and patches . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 10.
56“a pioneering woman . . .”: Florence J. Murray, At The Foot of Dragon Hill, New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc., 1975, pp. vii–x.
57“Although Halifax had always profited . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, pp. 242–43.
57“From just 1915 to 1916 . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, pp. 242–43.
58“There was a reason for that . . .”: David Millichope, Halifax in the Great War, Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword, 2015, pp. 149–53.
58“The economy’s sudden acceleration . . .”: Raddall and Kimer, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 243.
58“Add it all up . . .”: Bird, The Town That Died, p. 29.
58“Neighborhoods of Italians . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 243.
59“Four years later . . .”: Ibid., p. 244.
59“In the pubs . . .”: Ibid.
59“scores of prostitutes . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 10.
Chapter 7: Life and Death on the Western Front
61“I tell you it was no joke . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, September 16, 1915, Barss family archives.
61“Nine days later . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, September 25, 1915. Barss family archives.
63“On the lighter side . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, date unknown, Barss family archives.
64“You can bet . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, October 1, 1915, Barss family archives.
65“I am writing tonight . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, October 12, 1915, Barss family archives.
66“he sounded much better . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, November 11, 1915, Barss family archives.
67“After listing some of the gifts . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, January 3, 1916, Barss family archives.
68“his commanding officer demoted him . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, military records, Barss family archives.
Chapter 8: Halifax Harbour
69“But many French-Canadians . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
70“The HMCS Rainbow . . .”: J. G. Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002, p. 20.
70“Throw in the RCN’s lack of officers . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
70“Shortly after war broke out . . .”: Wyatt’s biography is drawn largely from Zemel, Scapegoat, pp. 16–18.
71“Thus, during the war . . .”: Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy, p. 20.
73“The Royal Canadian Navy in Ottawa . . .”: Zemel, Scapegoat, pp. 292-93.
74“A few weeks later . . .”: Ibid., p. 18.
74“In his third letter . . .” All three of Wyatt’s letters were published in the Halifax Morning Chronicle, January 28, 1918.
Chapter 9: “It Can’t Be Any Worse”
75“We are going in again . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, February 15, 1916, Barss family archives.
75“I expect to go on leave . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, February 20, 1916, Barss family archives.
76“On February 21, 1916 . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, official military records, Barss family archives; and Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, date unknown, Barss family archives.
76“This is a very different letter . . .” Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, March 1, 1916, Barss family archives.
77“Finally, on Sunday, May 7 . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, May 12, 1916, Barss family archives.
79“Well, I’m back again to it all . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, May 18, 1916, Barss family archives.
79“I think we are all heartily sick of the whole show . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, May 31, 1916, Barss family archives.
80“The next day, Thursday, June 1, 1916, the Patricias installed four companies . . .”: Most of the battle of Mont Sorrel comes from Jeffrey Williams, First in the Field: Gault of the Patricia’s, Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword, 1997, pp. 110–15.
82“I have been admitted into hospital . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, postcard to his parents, June 4, 1916, Barss family archives.
82“and another class of men . . .”: Keegan, The First World War, pp. 6-7.
82“the tomb of the Unknown Soldier . . .”: Ibid., pp. 5-6.
Chapter 10: “The City’s Newer Part”
84“Richmond with land to spare . . .”: Blair Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, Halifax: Self, 1988, p. 88.
84“At just about any hour . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 12.
84“Near the turn of the century . . .”: The Orr family background comes from Kitz, Shattered City.
86“In 1917, most Richmond children . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, pp. 15–17.
87“and Grove Presbyterian . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 13.
87“The Driscolls’ home . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, pp. 2 and 13.
88“With no theater in Richmond . . .”: Ibid., p. 26.
88“The Pattisons’ father . . .”: Ibid., pp. 6, 13, 22, and 24–25.
90“None of the people . . .”: Africville Genealogy Society, The Spirit of Africville, Halifax: Lorimer, 2010, p. 43.
90“When business was humming . . .”: Ibid., p. 38.
91“By 1914, they had been reduced . . .”: Ruth Holmes Whitehead, Tracking Doctor Lonecloud: Showman to Legend Keeper, Fredericton, New Brunswick: Goose Lane Editions, 2002.
Chapter 11: Wounded Inside and Out
92“Just a few lines . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, June 6, 1916, Barss family archives.
93“Barss filled in more . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his parents, August 18, 1916, Barss family archives.
93“His official records stated . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, official military records, Barss family archives.
93“In a letter to her sister . . .”: Libby Barss, letter to her sister, October 1, 1916, Barss family archives.
95“The military doctors . . .” Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
95“He looks well . . .”: Howard Barss, letter to Aunt Margaret, February 17, 1917, Barss family archives.
95“The doctors’ conclusions . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, official military records, date unknown, Barss family archives.
96“Thus, Great Britain . . .”: Kazin, War Against War, p. 197.
97“Of course, the Americans would only tip the balance . . .”: Glenn Stout, The Selling of The Babe: The Deal that Changed Baseball and Created a Legend, New York: Thomas Dunn Book, 2016, pp. 19 and 28.
99“MacNeil liked to shock . . .”: Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, pp. 127–28.
100“In the spring of 1917, Barss spent . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, official military records, 1915–1919, Barss family archives.
100“Barrs decided to ignore . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, date unknown, Barss family archives.
101“Barss wrote to his American uncle . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his uncle Andrew Townson, December 14, 1917, Barss family archives.
Part IV: A Dangerous Dance
Chapter 12: Two Ships
105“The vessels were equipped . . .”: History Journal, “U-Boats in World War I,” https://historyjournal.org/2012/08/28/u-boats-in-world-war-i/.
106“But to Noble Driscoll . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, pp. 2–4.
107“Launched in 1889, the White Star Line . . .”: The background of Imo and Captain Haakon From comes largely from Zemel, Scapegoat, pp. 21–26.
108“In October 1917 . . .”: This background of Mont-Blanc and Captain Le Médec comes largely from Zemel, Scapegoat, pp. 19–22; and MacDonald, Curse of the Narrows, p. 17.
109“What made Mont-Blanc’s cargo so dangerous?”: This analysis is drawn largely from Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, pp. 275–77 and 287.
111“She had a devil’s brew aboard . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 244.
112“The stevedores followed orders . . .”: Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy, p. 30.