Explosion of the Steamship Dayton

Shortly after the people of Texas voted to approve annexation to the U.S. in June 1845, the U.S. entered a boundary dispute between Texas and Mexico. President James K. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to position his troops on or near the Rio Grande. Corpus Christi was chosen as headquarters for the troops. The steamer "Dayton" was carrying troops from Corpus Christi to St. Joseph's Island on September 12, 1845 when a boiler burst near McGloin's Bluff (Ingleside). A second boiler blew as the boat plunged into the water. The remains of the vessel caught on fire and soon sank. A small boat picked up the wounded in the water following the explosions. Seven soldiers were killed, and one died several days later. A burial site was chosen here by Gen. Hitchcock and a military funeral took place the same day as the accident. The "Dayton" explosion victims buried here are: Lt. Benjamin A. Berry, age 28; Lt. Thaddeus Higgins, age 28; Richard Edwards, born in New York, age 33; John Hughes, born in Chambly, Canada, age 18; Alexander Iwanowski, born in Kamienic, Poland, age 39; James Johnson, born in Nottingham, England, age 36; James Marshall, born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, age 39; and Daniel McKerns, born in Chester, Pennsylvania, age 26. (1997).