PRESIDENT ESCAPES INJURY IN CANNON BLAST ABOARD THE USS PRINCETON
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 28, 1844, President John Tyler escaped injury when a 12" 27,000 pound cannon, the largest naval gun in the world called "The Peacemaker," exploded on the U.S.S. Princeton* as it cruised down the Potomac River.
The blast, which sent shrapnel flying in all directions, killed Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer. The death toll was six including the father of the President's fiancee, David Gardiner. Sixteen to twenty people sustained injuries.
The President, heading up the steps from below deck at the time of the explosion, was unharmed. It is said that more government officials were killed in one day than any other tragedy in American history.
*U.S.S. Princeton (1843-1849) commanded by Captain Robert F. Stockton, was a screw steam warship. The cruise followed a reception the previous day held at the White House in honor of Captain Stockton who is notable for having captured California during the Mexican-American War.
SOURCE
"The USS Princeton and the Disaster You've Never Heard Of," Historic America, www.historicamerica.org/
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