The first USS Princeton was a screw steam warship of the United States Navy. Commanded by Captain Robert F. Stockton, Princeton was launched on September 5, 1843. On February 28, 1844, during a Potomac River pleasure cruise for dignitaries, one gun exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer, and injuring others, including a United States Senator and Captain Stockton. The disaster on board the Princeton killed more top U.S. government officials in one day than any other tragedy in American history. President John Tyler, who was aboard but below decks, was not injured. The ship's reputation in the Navy never recovered. Early history Princeton was laid down on October 20, 1842, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a corvette. The designer of the ship and main supervisor of construction was the Swedish inventor John Ericsson, who later designed . The construction was partly supervised by Captain Stockton, who had secured political support for the ship's construction. The ship was named after Princeton, New Jersey, site of an American victory in the Revolutionary War and hometown of the prominent Stockton family. The ship was launched on September 5, 1843, and commissioned on September 9, 1843, with Captain Stockton commanding. Princeton made a trial trip in the Delaware River on October 12, 1843. She departed Philadelphia on October 17 for a sea trial, proceeded to New York, where she raced and easily beat the British steamer , and returned to Philadelphia on October 20 to finish outfitting. On November 22, Captain Stockton reported, "Princeton will be ready for sea in a week." On November 28, he dressed ship and received visitors on board for inspection. On November 30, she towed down the Delaware and later returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Princeton sailed on January 1, 1844, for New York, where she received her two big guns, "Peacemaker" and "Oregon". Princeton sailed to Washington on February 13. Washingtonians displayed great interest in the ship and her guns. She made trial trips with passengers on board down the Potomac River on February 16, 18, and 20, during which "Peacemaker" was fired several times. The Tyler administration promoted the ship as part of its campaign for naval expansion, and Congress adjourned for February 20 so that members could tour the ship. Former President John Quincy Adams, now a congressman and skeptical of both territorial expansion