The 10th President, John Tyler, had only achieved the highest office in the land thanks to the stubbornness of William Henry Harrison. Harrison has the notoriety of the shortest tenure as president, 31 days, as Harrison - a War of 1812 veteran who campaigned on a rough-and-tumble "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" platform and refused to wear a coat or a hat (gotta keep that rough-and-tumble energy up) at his inauguration despite the cold and the rain of March in Washington still delivered the longest inaugural address in the country's history (almost 8,500 words long). While many historians don't believe Harrison died a month later because he couldn't remember motherly advice to put on a coat and a hat, 100% of historians do agree that William Henry Harrison, did, in fact, die.
This brings us to his Vice President, John Tyler. No president had ever died in office before Harrison's one-month reign. While people had likely thought about a line of succession, it wasn't until after John F. Kennedy was assassinated that the 25th Amendment was ratified, officially promoting the Vice President to President in the event that the President is unable to perform their duties, and that is all we will say about that at present. Even Harrison's cabinet members called him "acting president." Opponents called Tyler "His Accidency," which, even by today's standards, is just a devastating burn. Henry Clay, leader of the Whigs, kicked Tyler out of the party. A whole bunch of Harrison's cabinet members resigned whenever Tyler tried to assert his authority as a president by vetoing bills. Congress opposed Tyler when he tried to nominate people to his own cabinet. This is, of course, insane. The Whigs tried to impeach him three times in his less-than-four-year-long presidency. Mid-19th century American politics were crazy because they were literally just making it up as they went along. Anyhow, Tyler consolidated his power and set out to fashion his own presidency that he never could have imagined a month earlier.
On September 5, 1843 the Princeton was launched for the first time, a technological achievement in ship-building. The Princeton was known as a "corvette," the smallest class of warship, designed by Swedish inventor John Ericsson who would later go on to design and build the USS Monitor, the first steam-powered iron-hulled ship commissioned by the US Navy that would end up trading cannonballs off the CSS Merrimac at the Battle of Hampton Roads in the Civil War.
Ericsson was a genius. Over his lifetime, not only did he design a working iron-hulled ship that changed the US Navy forever, but he invented an iron steamboat, a hot air engine, a solar engine, and a new kind of torpedo boat, among other things. He had designed a new ship that used twin screw-propellers that moved in opposite directions but the British Admiralty didn't like it. However, Ericsson's design had caught the eye of someone who could help his design see the light of day.
The Princeton was named so because it was the hometown of the Stockton family, a member of which was Captain Robert Field Stockton, the son of U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative Richard Stockton, the grandson of New Jersey Attorney General and signer of the Declaration of Independence (and not all confusingly-similarly-named) Richard Stockton. Captain Stockton spent his military career in the Navy, fighting in the War of 1812 at 17 years old. Stockton was an, ahem, skilled politician. He consecutively supported John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson - about as far apart on the political spectrum as you can possibly get. President Tyler asked him to be the Secretary of the Navy after the previous one resigned. He declined, but said he would help out. This gave him political influence.
Using that influence, Robert Stockton invited Ericsson to come to the United States, and oversaw construction of the Princeton. The ship was commissioned on September 9, 1843 with Captain Stockton taking the helm. The Princeton was notable because it was the first American ship to employ screw propellers, powered by an engine below deck to protect it from gunfire.
Over the next few months, the Princeton raced - and easily beat - the SS Great Western, then the fastest steam ship in the world, until everyone involved was satisfied that the ship was ready to go. In early 1844, the Princeton sailed for Hogg & Delamater's in New York to get two big guns (wrought-iron 225-pounders) in addition to the twelve 42-pound cannonades already installed: Peacemaker (which Stockton helped design) which weighed 27,000 pounds and was built in England, and the Ericsson-designed Oregon. Oregon was tested over 150 times. Stockton was the one who designed Peacemaker based on Ericsson's design, but didn't fully understand Ericsson's blueprints, unfortunately skipping some details that Ericsson had placed to stabilize and reinforce the massive cannon, and Stockton added another almost 13,000 pounds of weight to the gun. Stockton and Ericsson argued about the guns. Stockton was ready to take them out for a spin, Ericsson said Peacemaker hadn't undergone enough testing yet.
Once the guns were fitted, the Princeton made its way to Washington, D.C., where she gained the interest of the town as well as government officials. By this time Stockton was actively seeking credit for the ship's design and increased tensions between him and Ericsson were putting an end to their partnership.
The Princeton arrived in Washington on February 13 and proceeded to make passenger runs down the Potomac River, just to show off, over the next week. Congress adjourned on February 20 so that congressmen could take a tour of the ship.
On February 27 - Stockton fired Peacemaker (the big boy cannon that he had designed) and it had overheated. More vigorous testing of the gun should have taken place, apparently it had only been fired five times before receiving its official go-ahead. But the next day was a big day for Captain Stockton and the Princeton. That night Stockton wrote to his wife:
"Tomorrow - Tomorrow - Oh that tomorrow were past and I could say All is well."
It wouldn't be.
On February 28, President John Tyler boarded the Princeton at Alexandria, Virginia, with a number of prominent politicians. Among them were former first lady Dolley Madison, Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, Senator Thomas Hart Benton, Captain Beverly Kennon - Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repairs - Representatives Virgil Maxey of Maryland and David Gardiner of New York, as well as Armistead, one of President Tyler's slaves.
One dignitary who declined an invitation to view the Princeton was former president and current Representative John Quincy Adams. He wasn't a fan of Tyler's expansionism and wrote derisively of the Princeton tour that the whole endeavor's purpose before Congress was "to fire their souls with patriotic ardor for a naval war."
As the Princeton sailed down the Potomac River, her cannons - 42 pounders - fired 26 times, one for each state in the Union at that point. When she passed Mount Vernon, the band played "Hail to the Chief." Upon the return to Washington, the various and assorted dignitaries were in the dining area giving toasts when Captain Stockton was informed that Peacemaker and Oregon were ready for a third firing demonstration. Initially he declined the request, but acquiesced in the presence of so much political power. Secretary of the Navy Gilmer was asked to make a toast before heading to the deck, which he pronounced "Fair trade and sailor's rights" to thunderous applause. It didn't take much, I guess.
Everyone went to the deck of the Princeton, except for President Tyler, who stayed below to talk to somebody. He was halfway up the stairs to the deck, and there were about 100 people on the deck to view the firing of the guns when Stockton fired Peacemaker. Ericsson's warnings about Peacemaker, unfortunately, proved correct. The left side of the gun failed, shooting blazing hot metal across the deck and into the crowd of dignitaries.
Congressman George Sykes, who was on the ship, wrote:
Upon turning my eyes towards [the gun] I was astonished to find that every man between me and the gun was lying prostrate on the deck - and about 30 or 40 men lying in heaps indiscriminately and promiscuously round the gun either killed, wounded, or knocked down and stunned by the concussion as the smoke gradually cleared away...
Secretary of the Navy Gilmer, Secretary of State Upshur, Captain Kennon, Rep. Maxey, Rep. Gardiner, and Tyler's slave Armistead were instantly killed. Captain Stockton, who had his leg resting on "Peacemaker" when it exploded, had his beard and hair burned off, and was in the hospital for weeks.
The next day, President Tyler (uninjured as he had remained below deck for a few extremely fortunate minutes) wrote a letter to Congress absolving Stockton, or anyone, of blame, saying that the explosion "must be set down as one of the casualties which, to a greater or lesser degree, attend upon every service, and which are invariably incident to the temporal affairs of mankind."
Now Tyler had the unenviable task of replacing two cabinet members: Secretary of State Upshur, and Secretary of the Navy Gilmer - who had only been confirmed by the Senate two weeks earlier. Stockton was cleared by a court of inquiry, and Tyler sent him on board the Princeton to Galveston to deliver an offer to annex Texas. By this point Stockton was known as being somewhat rash, so Tyler had to tell him to calm down. While in Galveston, Stockton became aware of a growing desire in Texas to go to war against Mexico, and reported the news to President Tyler. Stockton was promoted to the rank of Commodore and was dispatched aboard the Princeton to California, where he eventually commanded the Pacific Fleet, and marched on Los Angeles. Mexican General Jose Antonio Castro abandoned all his artillery. Stockton sent a courier, a Christopher Houston (Kit) Carson, to inform Washington of his conquest of California.
Stockton resigned from the Navy in 1850 and ran for the Senate as a Democrat from New Jersey. It wasn't until 1913 that the 17th Amendment allowed for citizens to directly elect their senators, and so the elections fell to the State Legislatures, of whom New Jersey's State Legislature elected Stockton over the Whig incumbent William Dayton. Stockton resigned in 1853 to become president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company. He passed away in Princeton, New Jersey in 1866.
Rep. Gardiner's daughter, 24-year old Julia (to whom Tyler had already proposed, been declined, proposed again and was awaiting a formal response), was on board The Princeton and fainted when she learned of her father's death. President Tyler carried her off the ship back to Washington, and she went on to marry President Tyler in four months later, citing Tyler's actions on that day as the cement of her love for him.
Julia Gardiner Tyler was the youngest First Lady in American history until 1886. Grover Cleveland, a long-time bachelor, invited the widow of his former law partner Oscar Folsom to the White House. Rumors flew that he was going to propose to the widow, he instead proposed to her 21-year old daughter, who accepted. Frances Folsom married 49-year old Grover Cleveland in the Blue Room of the White House in the only wedding to take place within the White House.
UPDATE: One thing that I was remiss to...miss was the fact that John Tyler - who passed away in 1862 - has two still-living grandchildren (as of August 30, 2020). John and Julia's 4th child was Lyon Gardiner Tyler in 1853. Lyon G. Tyler was the president of the College of William and Mary from 1888 until 1919. After his first wife passed away in 1921, Tyler (67 years old) married Sue Ruffin (32 years old). They had three children together: Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. was born in 1924, Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born in 1928, and a third child died in infancy. Lyon, Jr. and Harrison are still alive - the grandsons of the 10th President of the United States, who has been dead for 148 years.
