Brown's Island Disaster

Brown's Island Disaster (HM1IE2)

Location: Richmond, VA 23219
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 33.1', W 77° 25.883'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 671 views
Inscription
On March 13, 1863, an explosion destroyed much of the Confederate States Laboratory, a munitions facility on Brown's Island in the James River. 47 workers died, mostly girls under the age 17, who helped fill manpower needs and whose small hands were useful in such work.

Fourteen were interred in this cemetery in unmarked graves. Four are at this spot next to each other.

Emma Blankenship 15 · Wilhelmina Defenbach 15 · Virginia Mayer 12 · Caroline Zietenmayer 16

Others interred elsewhere in the cemetery are:

Margaret Alexander 12 · Anne E. Bolton 14 · Martha Clemmons 25 · Margaret Drustling 16 · Nannie Horan 14 · Alice Johnson 12 · Virginia C. Page 13 · Mary Valentine 14 · Mary Ellen Wallace 12 · Mary Zerhum 12

Placed by the Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery
with the support of the Order of the Southern Cross and Pickett Chapter #115, M.O.S. & B.
March 2013
Details
HM NumberHM1IE2
Tags
, ,
Year Placed2013
Placed ByFriends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, December 17th, 2014 at 5:01pm PST -08:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 285221 N 4158851
Decimal Degrees37.55166667, -77.43138333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 33.1', W 77° 25.883'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 33' 6" N, 77° 25' 52.98" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1000 E Bates St, Richmond VA 23219, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?
© 2025  Historical Marker Project.  All Rights Reserved.
All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
HMP is owned and operated by 3RiverDev (Fort Wayne, Indiana).
Terms and Conditions   |   Privacy Policy   |   Disclaimers   |   About   |   Contact Us