page_title: USS Princeton (1843)
section_title: Later history
hierarchical_section_title: USS Princeton (1843) / Later history
caption_attribution_description: English: The bell of the USS Princeton (1843)
context_page_description: 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, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Walker Gilmer, and four other high-ranking federal officials. The disaster on board the Princeton killed more top U.S. government officials in a single 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.
context_section_description: During construction and in the years following, Stockton attempted to claim complete credit for the design and construction of Princeton.
  Princeton was employed with the Home Squadron from 1845 to 1847. She later served in the Mediterranean from August 17, 1847, to June 24, 1849. Upon her return from Europe, she was surveyed and found to require $68,000 ($2.09 million in present-day terms) to replace decaying timber and make other repairs. The price was deemed unacceptable and a second survey was ordered. She was broken up at the Boston Navy Yard that October and November.
caption: USS Princeton Bell at Stockton St. and Bayard Ln. in Princeton, NJ
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