• DOI:10.2307/3102081
• Corpus ID: 112340342

The "Princeton" and the "Peacemaker": A Study in Nineteenth-Century Naval Research and Development Procedures

@article{Pearson1966TheA,
  title={The "Princeton" and the "Peacemaker": A Study in Nineteenth-Century Naval Research and Development Procedures},
  author={Lee M. Pearson},
  journal={Technology and Culture},
  year={1966},
  volume={7},
  pages={163}
}

• L. Pearson
• Published 21 January 1966
• History
• Technology and Culture

On February 28, 1844, a gun exploded aboard the navy's new steam frigate, the U.S.S. "Princeton," causing a multiple tragedy. Fragments struck a group of illustrious visitors, killing five men of national prominence, two of them members of the Cabinet-Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State, and Thomas W. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy. But for President Tyler's interest in Julia Gardiner, his wife-to-be and the daughter of one of the men killed, he might have been among the fatalities. The story of the explosion has been told many times, but the background relating to the gun and the ship has never been fully examined. The following account studies this background as recorded in Navy Department files and presents the findings as a case study in the administration of research and development.