DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one doing the talking here — I'm just the voice carrying it down the road. Now, to understand what happened on September 12, 1845, you've got to back up just a few months. The people of Texas had voted to approve annexation to the United States in June of that year.
Fresh union, big territory, and already — already — a boundary dispute brewing between Texas and Mexico. President James K. Polk had seen enough.
He ordered General Zachary Taylor to position his troops on or near the Rio Grande, and Corpus Christi was chosen as headquarters for the whole operation. So there were soldiers moving through this part of Texas, repositioning, resupplying, doing what armies do. And on that September morning, the steamer Dayton was carrying troops from Corpus Christi to St.
Joseph's Island. Routine enough, you'd think. Then, near a place called McGloin's Bluff — what you'd know today as Ingleside — a boiler burst.
That alone would have been catastrophe. But the Dayton wasn't done. A second boiler blew as the boat plunged into the water.
The remains of the vessel caught on fire. And soon after, she sank. A small boat picked up the wounded in the water following the explosions.
Seven soldiers were killed outright. One more died several days later. General Hitchcock chose a burial site, right there.
A military funeral took place the same day as the accident. And the men laid to rest here were given their names to history. Lieutenant Benjamin A.
Berry, age twenty-eight. Lieutenant Thaddeus Higgins, age twenty-eight. Richard Edwards, born in New York, age thirty-three.
John Hughes, born in Chambly, Canada, age eighteen. Alexander Iwanowski, born in Kamienic, Poland, age thirty-nine. James Johnson, born in Nottingham, England, age thirty-six.
James Marshall, born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, age thirty-nine. And Daniel McKerns, born in Chester, Pennsylvania, age twenty-six. Eight men.
Eight places of origin spread across two continents. All of them in the middle of South Texas on a September morning, all of them gone before the day was out — caught in the crossfire of machinery and history both at once. The Dayton never made it to St.
Joseph's Island. But the men aboard her made it into the record. That much, at least, held.
What the marker says
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)