The USS Princeton was the most powerful warship in the world. It was designed by the great inventor John Ericsson (who later created the Monitor). It was the first warship with a screw propeller and it had the largest naval gun in the world. The Peacemaker was a 15-inch monster. The steam frigate arrived in Washington in 1844 for its official launching. On Feb. 28, it was to sail up the Potomac to Mount Vernon with a shipload of celebrities, including Pres. John Tyler and several members of his Cabinet. Dolley Madison came along. Among the celebrities was a rich New Yorker named David Gardiner and his two daughters, Julia and Margaret. The recently widowed Tyler had already proposed to Julia, but her mother had nixed the idea because of the age difference. The President was 54 and Julia was 24.
The highlight of the voyage was the firing of the Peacemaker. It was fired at ice floes and the noise wowed the crowd. John Ericsson (who was not on board), had warned Capt. Robert Stockton that the gun should not be fired without further testing, but so far so good. After a lunch, with toasting, below deck, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer ordered the reluctant Stockton to fire a salute to Mount Vernon. This time the gun exploded, spraying the deck with shards of metal. Eight people were killed. The dead included Gilmer and Sec. of State Abel Upsher. Tyler’s slave/valet was killed. Gardiner was among the deceased. Tyler, who had been heading up a gangplank, consoled his daughter. His actions convinced Julia and her mother that he was marriage-worthy. She gave him seven more kids to go with the eight from his first marriage (setting the record for most Presidential children). Julia left the legacy of having a band play “Hail to the Chief” when the President enters the room.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tyler-narrowly-escapes-death-on-the-uss-princeton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Princeton_(1843)
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