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Residents of Morgan, NJ flee from the Morgan Depot explosions to Perth Amboy.
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| Date | October 4, 1918 |
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| Time | 7:30 p.m. Eastern time |
| Location | Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey |
| Casualties | |
| Over 100 dead | |
| Hundreds injured | |
The T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion, sometimes called the Morgan Depot Explosion, occurred at 7:30 p.m. on October 4, 1918 at an ammunition plant operated by the T.A. Gillespie Company and located in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The initial explosion triggered a fire and subsequent series of explosions which continued for three days. The facility, said to be one of the largest in the world at the time, was destroyed along with more than 300 buildings, forcing reconstruction of South Amboy and Sayreville.[1]
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Damage to the area was estimated to be US$18 million[2] and the US Government paid US$300,000 in insurance to area residents, equal to over US$3.2 million in 1998 dollars. According to a 1919 government report, the explosion destroyed enough ammunition to supply the western front for six months.[1]
Martial law was declared following the accident forcing the evacuation of Sayreville, South Amboy and Perth Amboy, whose combined populations totaled approximately 62,000. The death toll for the accident is unclear since employment records were destroyed by the explosion, but it is assumed to be over 100 persons with hundreds more injured.[1] The unidentified remains of 14 to 18 workers were buried in a mass grave on Ernston Road in Old Bridge.[3] Evacuated and homeless persons were said to be more susceptible to the 1918 influenza epidemic the following winter resulting in a high death toll in the area due to the epidemic.[1]
Among many others involved in rescue operations, a number of United States Coast Guardsmen stationed in Perth Amboy, New Jersey were involved in rescue operations. 12 received Navy Crosses for their heroic actions in the aftermath of the explosion and two Coast Guardsmen died in the effort. The award citations indicate that during the conflagration they risked death when they relocated a train loaded with TNT that was threatened by the fire.[4] One Navy Cross recipient later became Vice Admiral Joseph Stika.
Debris was, of course, scattered over a large area by the explosions. As late as 2007 unexploded ordnance or other material from the facility was being found in the surrounding area. On June 7, 2007 ordnance was found at Samsel Upper Elementary School while grading an area for a playground. Explosive Ordnance Disposal crews were called in to remove the material.[5] During cleanup operations in 1994 and 1997 the United States Army Corps of Engineers collected and disposed of 5,080 pieces of ordnance. The cleanup was sparked by the discovery of shells near Sayreville's Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School in both years.[1]