July 6, 1915: Eric Muenter Goes Out With a Bang

July 6, 1915: Eric Muenter dies, still in the process of becoming one of the most successful terrorists ever to strike at America. How could that be?

He was born on March 25, 1871 in Uelzen, Lower Saxony, Germany. In 1906, he was a professor of German at Harvard University, when his pregnant wife, the former Leona Krembs, died of arsenic poisoning. He was accused of murder, and was almost certainly guilty.

He went on the run, reappeared under the name Frank Holt, remarried, and got a job teaching German at another Ivy League school, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. By 1915, while not yet fighting in World War I, the American government was aiding Britain and France against Germany. He joined Abteilung III b (Department Three-B), which planted time-bombs on ships carrying arms for the Allies from American ports.

On July 2, about 2 months after a German U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, increasing the calls for America to enter the war, he entered the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington. Unable to gain access to the locked Senate chamber, he hid a time-bomb in the Senate reception room. There was no one to be injured by the explosion, and he wrote a letter to The Washington Star under a pseudonym, saying he hoped to "Make enough noise to be heard above the voices that clamor for war."

This was not the first attempt to attack the Capitol: In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British Army had burned it, along with the White House. And it would not be the last: There was a shooting in the House of Representatives chamber that wounded 5 Congressmen in 1954, the Weather Underground planted a bomb that hurt no one in 1971, a pro-Communist group set off a bomb that hurt no one in 1983, 2 Capitol police offers were shot and killed in 1998, some Senators received anthrax-tainted mail in 2001, and, of course, there was the Trump Insurrection of January 6, 2021, in which 5 people died.

Muenter was just getting warmed up. On July 3, the day the letter appeared, he was already in New York, where he boarded the SS Minnehaha, which was loaded with munitions meant for Britain. He then took the Long Island Rail Road to Glen Cove, and invaded the mansion of J.P. Morgan Jr. His father, the financier/robber baron John Pierpont Morgan, had died in 1913, but Morgan Jr. had continued his activities, and was financing some of the aid to Britain.

Muenter found Morgan, and aimed his gun. Morgan lunged at him, and actually managed to tackle him before he could get off a shot. In the struggle, Muenter fired 2 shots, but Morgan was not hurt enough to give up the struggle. Finally, Morgan's butler hit Muenter, knocking him out. Morgan was treated, and returned to work within weeks.

The would-be assassin was identified as Frank Holt. But another man saw a resemblance to Eric Muenter, whom the witness knew was wanted for the killing of his wife. A Harvard official was brought to New York, and he confirmed that Muenter and Holt were one and the same.

On July 5, in his jail cell in Mineola, on Long Island, Muenter slashed his wrist, but this attempt at suicide failed. The next day, a guard failed to lock his cell, and Muenter got out, went up to the roof, and jumped to his death. He was 44 years old.

But while his life was over, his reign of terror was not. His new wife received a letter from him, warning that a ship heading for England would sink on July 7. It was quickly narrowed down to the Minnehaha, and the ship was contacted by radio. The crew searched for the bomb, but couldn't find it before it exploded. Fortunately, Muenter had goofed: He put it too far from the munitions on board to do anything more than minor damage, and the ship arrived safely.

American anger at Germany rose, but, still, America didn't get into the war. Finally, on April 2, 1917, faced with additional German attacks on American ships, President Woodrow Wilson, who had recently won re-election on the slogan, "He kept us out of war," could keep out of it no longer, and asked Congress for a Declaration of War. He got it, and the war was won on November 11, 1918.

The 2 years after that would see several other terrorist incidents on American soil -- but most of them would not be committed by Germans seeking revenge.

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July 6, 1915 was a Wednesday. This was during the Federal League's attempt to be a 3rd major league in baseball. In the American League that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-6 at the Polo Grounds, where they groundshared with the Giants until the 1st Yankee Stadium was built in 1923. Jack Lapp hit a home run, Nap Lajoie went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Wally Schang went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Schang would later be the catcher on the Yankees' 1st 3 Pennant winners and their 1st World Series winners in 1923.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators at Fenway Park in Boston. Tris Speaker, in his last season before being traded to Cleveland, went 3-for-8 with an RBI. In the nightcap, Vean Gregg outpitched Walter Johnson. Babe Ruth, in his 1st full season, did not appear in either game.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at League Park in Cleveland. For the Tigers, Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs. For the Indians, Shoeless Joe Jackson went 1-for-4.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

In the National League:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. In spite of this loss, the Phillies won their 1st Pennant, before losing the World Series to the Red Sox.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers -- or the Brooklyn Robins, as they were known under the managing of Wilbert Robinson from 1914 to 1931 -- swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, 3-2 and 4-3.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-4.

* And there was a doubleheader at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. In the opener, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4. Pete Knisely drove in the winning run with a triple in the bottom of the 14th inning. The nightcap was tied 2-2 after 7 innings, when the umpires called it due to darkness.

The next season, with the collapse of the FL, Chicago Whales owner Charlie Weeghman was allowed to buy the Cubs, and moved them into the Whales' home, Weeghman Park, which later became Wrigley Field.

And in the Federal League:

* The Newark Peppers beat the Baltimore Terrapins, 7-1 at Terrapin Park in Baltimore. After the FL's collapse, the International League's Baltimore Orioles moved into Terrapin Park, renamed it Oriole Park, became the dominant minor-league team of the 1920s, and stayed until a fire burned the park down on July 4, 1944. Their move to Baltimore Municipal Stadium led to its conversion into Memorial Stadium, and to Baltimore's return to the major leagues.

* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops beat the Buffalo Blues, 5-1 at Washington Park in Brooklyn, where the Dodgers had played before Ebbets Field.

* The Kansas City Packers beat the St. Louis Terriers, 1-0 at Gordon and Koppel Field in Kansas City. Nick Cullop had to leave the game after 3 innings, but he and Gene Packard combined for a 7-hit shutout.

* And the Chicago Whales and the Pittsburgh Rebels were rained out at Weeghman Park, the future Wrigley Field, in Chicago. The Whales won the Pennant, and the game was never made up.