| Colonel Bradley Dewey | Officer in Charge |
| Lieut. Col. A. L. Besse | Asst. Officer in Charge |
| Major M. L. Emerson | Administration Section |
| Major H. P. Schuit | Comptrolling Section |
| Mr. R. Skemp | Procurement Section |
| Major C. R. Johnson | Technical Director |
| Capt. K. Atterbury | Field Testing Section |
| Major J. C. Woodruff | Chemical Manufacturing and |
| Development | |
| Mr. R. R. Richardson | Manager, Gas Defense Plant |
| Capt. H. P. Scott | Officer in Charge, |
| Hero Manufacturing Co. | |
| Major L. W. Cottman | Engineering Branch |
| Major T. L. Wheeler | Chemical Development |
| Major I. W. Wilson | Astoria Branch |
| Capt. W. E. Brophy | San Francisco Branch |
| Lt. E. J. Noble | Cleveland Branch |
| Lt. L. Merrill | Springfield Branch |
Edgewood Arsenal
The Ordnance Department, in making plans for a shell filling plant, thought to interest existing chemical firms in the manufacture of the required toxic materials. As plans developed, however, difficulties arose in carrying out this program. The manufacture of such material at private plants necessitated its shipment to the filling plant at Edgewood. The transportation of large quantities of highly toxic gases seemed attended with great danger. The Director General of Railroads ruled that all such shipments must be made by special train, a very expensive method of transportation. Still more serious objections were encountered in the attempt to enlist the co-operation of existing firms. They recognized that the manufacture of such material would be attended by very great danger; that the work would be limited to the duration of the war; and that the processes involved, as well as the plants necessary for carrying out their processes, would have little post-war value. Moreover, such firms as had the personnel and equipment were already over-worked. With a few exceptions (notably the American Synthetic Color Company, the Oldbury Electro-Chemical Co., Zinsser & Co., and the Dow Chemical Company) they were unwilling to undertake work of this character on any terms whatever.
Early in December, 1917, therefore, it was decided to erect, on the site of the shell filling plant, such chemical plants as would be necessary to furnish the toxic materials required for filling the shell. The Arsenal is situated in an isolated district, twenty miles east of Baltimore, Maryland, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and comprises 3,400 acres. Since the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad runs on one side of the tract, while on another is the Bush River, only a few miles from its mouth in Chesapeake Bay, the tract was ideally situated for shipping. This site was referred to, at first, as “Gunpowder Reservation,” but on May 4, 1918, the name was officially changed to “Edgewood Arsenal.”
Fig. 6.—Edgewood Arsenal.
The upper view shows the site as it appeared Oct. 24, 1917. The lower view shows the same as it appeared nine months later.
Some idea of the extent of the work may be gained from the following facts. On October 1, 1918, there were 233 officers, 6,948 enlisted men and 3,066 civilians engaged in work at Edgewood. 86 cantonments were built, accommodating about 8,500 men, while the five officers’ barracks provided accommodations for 290. The completed hospital unit consisted of 34 buildings, accommodating 420 patients under ordinary conditions. The total number of buildings erected on the Arsenal grounds was 550. 14.8 miles of improved roads were built, and 21 miles of standard gauge and 15 miles of narrow gauge railway. A system furnishing 9.5 million gallons of salt water and another furnishing two millions of fresh water daily were successfully installed. Large power plants were built in connection with the shell filling plants and the chlorine plant.
Plants for phosgene, chloropicrin, mustard gas, chlorine and sulfur chloride were built and placed in successful operation. Most of the raw materials, with the exception of sulfur chloride, were obtained from commercial firms. The other gases and manufactured materials used, such as phosphorus, tin and silicon tetrachlorides, bromobenzylcyanide and arsenic derivatives were supplied by various plants scattered through the East and Middle West States.
The raw materials used by the Arsenal in 1918 were as follows: