- Werner Horn
Werner Horn was a German citizen and would-besaboteur .Background
A German reserve army lieutenant and manager of a coffee plantation in
Guatemala at the outbreak ofWorld War I , Horn traveled toNew York City in order to return to Germany, but could not leave because of the British blockade of theNorth Sea . Instead, he was enlisted byFranz von Papen , then the German Imperial military attache in Washington D.C., who would later become Chancellor of Germany in the early 1930s). Papen paid Horn an alleged $700 to sabotage the Saint Croix-Vanceboro Bridge of theCanadian Pacific Railway located inVanceboro, Maine . Vanceboro was at the time a major point of entry into the United States from Canada.The Incident
On the morning of February 2, 1915, Horn attempted to blow up the bridge. To minimize the risk of killing anyone, Horn set a short fuse, hoping that the explosion would occur after he had walked back across the bridge to Vanceboro, but before another train arrived. Horn's plan failed because much of the dynamite had frozen.
Arrest, Trial and Aftermath
Horn was apprehended upon returning to his hotel, where he met the proprietor in the lobby and immediately confessed. He was arrested, tried and found guilty. Due to the fact that the U.S. was neutral at the time, he was only sentenced to 30 days imprisonment for property destruction. At the urging of the British ambassador to the U.S., however, Horn was extradited to Canada and sentenced to five years imprisonment for espionage. He was released when the war ended in 1918.
References
Lavallee, C.M. (2007). "Canadian Pacific to the East: The International of Maine Division," Ottawa, ON: Bytown Railway Society. ISBN-13 978-0-921871-10-1
"New York Times", "Federal Charge Holds Bridge Dynamiter", Mar. 8, 1915, p. 1 [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A06E7DD123FE233A2575BC0A9659C946496D6CF&oref=slogin]
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