Alexander Keith Jr.
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Alexander "Sandy" Keith Jr. (1827December 18, 1875) was a Scottish-born Canadian smuggler and mass murderer. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he was employed by the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
as a spy, and after the war attempted to use a
time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...
to destroy the
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
''Mosel'' for
insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...
in 1875, resulting in the deaths of 81 bystanders and his own suicide.


Biography

Keith was born in 1827 in
Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, immigrating to
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
when he was a small boy. The nephew of Halifax businessman Alexander Keith, he worked for a time as a clerk in his uncle's brewery. Apparently envious of the wealthier life his uncle lived, Keith Jr. was determined to make a name for himself by any means necessary. He began by scamming railroads by delivering cheap product instead of the expensive products he promised. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, when Halifax was home to many Confederate sympathizers, Keith acted mostly as a
blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...
and courier. He helped a Confederate sympathiser escape British capture in the
Chesapeake Affair The ''Chesapeake'' Affair was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On December 7, 1863, Confederate sympathizers from the British colonies Nova Scotia and New Brunswick captured the American steam ...
. He was also involved with Luke Blackburn in a plot to send clothes infected with yellow fever to northern cities in the United States. In 1865, he swindled his associates-in-crime and fled to
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, settling finally on the prairie. There, he married Cecelia Paris, a milliner's daughter from St. Louis. Hunted down by one of his victims, Keith fled again with Cecelia, this time to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. He hobnobbed with wealthy socialites and Saxon generals under the assumed name of "William King Thomas". When the couple began to run out of money, remembering a series of fraudulent insurance claims on blockade-running ships that sank at sea, Keith eventually determined to just destroy a ship himself. Using a variety of aliases, he set about purchasing timers and dynamite. He obtained around 150 British pounds of insurance for what he claimed was a barrel of caviar to complete his scheme. His initial target was a Norddeutscher Lloyd ship, the ''Mosel''. This led to a major catastrophe in
Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...
in 1875, when a
time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...
he had placed in the "caviar" barrel accidentally went off on the dock, killing 81 people.Deutsche Geschichte: Als die Höllenmaschine Bremerhaven erzittern ließ
Cord Christian Troebst,
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
, 7 augustus 2006
According to one witness: "A mushroom-shaped column of smoke rose approximately 200 meters above the harbor. Everywhere people were crying and whimpering beside ruins. The entire pier was covered in soot: it was like the gateway to hell." At the time, the deed was called the "crime of the century." Keith was aboard another ship in Bremerhaven at the time of the ''Mosel'' explosion. He went to his suite and shot himself twice with a revolver, but survived for a week. After the tragedy was revealed as a murder/insurance scam on a large scale, the disappearances of other ships were investigated to see if Keith and his possible associates were involved. One was the disappearance of the '' SS City of Boston'', which vanished in January 1870. The allegation was proven to be false. He was reputed to have been buried in an unmarked grave in Bremerhaven. His severed head was kept at the Bremer Police Museum and was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. Newspapers called it "The Thomas Crime". Regarding his time bomb, Keith's biographer Ann Larabee wrote: "Keith was not responsible for the political passion of these violent political groups, but he played a role in showing them a means of action."


In fiction

''The Dynamite Fiend: The Chilling Story of Alexander Keith Jr., Nova Scotian Spy, Con-Artist, and International Terrorist'' by
Ann Larabee Ann Larabee (born 1957) is an American literary historian who has written on the cultural impact of disasters. She is a professor of 20th century and contemporary literature at Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michig ...
was published in 2005. The book in turn inspired ''The Inventor'', an
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
by
Bramwell Tovey Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer. Life and career Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as ...
and John Murrell that was performed by the Calgary Opera Company and
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...
in 2011. Alexander Keith Jr. is also a character in Boris Pronsky and Craig Britton's novel ''Forty-Ninth'', central for the execution of the Alaska Payment Conspiracy in the book. The character is introduced by the name of William Thompson, as it was one of the many aliases used by Keith.


References


Sources

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External links


The Dynamite Fiend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Alexander Jr. 1827 births 1875 deaths 1870s suicides American Civil War spies Bombers (people) Canadian mass murderers Canadian smugglers Multiple gunshot suicides People from Caithness People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Scottish mass murderers Suicides by firearm in Germany