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Arsenal Explosion
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d. 17 Jun 1864
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R97-98 S142-146
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- Explosion at the Arsenal June 17, 1864, caused by sparks generated by explosives drying in the sun that flew into a building where young women were manufacturing cartridges.
- 22 women died of burns. 16 are buried beneath the monument and 2 in family plots nearby. 4 are interred at Mt. Olivet.
- President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edward Stanton were chief mourners.
- Every hack in the city was hired by those wishing to accompany the bodies to the cemetery.
- The monument paid for by public donations (cost $3,000) and dedicated one year later. It was carved the Flaherty Brothers.
- Check the clip files on our web site for transcriptions of the newspaper accounts of the accident and the funeral.
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John Philip Sousa
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b. 6 Nov 1854 - d. 6 Mar 1932
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39 yrs.
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R77 S163-S
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- The "March King". "Stars and Stripes Forever" is his most famous march.
- Leader of the U.S. Marine Band, 1880-1892.
- Born in South East Washington. One-time choir master of Christ Church where he was baptised.
- A military escort and the Marine Band accompanied his body to Congressional Cemetery.
- The monument is the only part of a much larger monument that was intended for an area in central Washington. It was never built because of the difficulty of raising money in the years of the Great Depression.
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Herbert Lincoln Clarke
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b. 1867 - d. 30 Jan 1945
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78 yrs.
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R72 S165-N
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- A preeminent cornetist, composer, conductor and teacher who was a soloist with the Sousa Band 1893, 1899-1917. He was assistant conductor for several seasons.
- He toured the world once, the U.S. and Canada 34 times, Europe 4 times and he performed at the expositions of Paris, Chicago, Atlanta, Buffalo, Glasgow, Panama, San Francisco and St. Louis.
- His recordings are housed in the Department of Bands, University of Illinois at Urbana.
- He wished to be buried as close to Sousa as possible.
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