In 1844, a passenger steamboat explodes on the Ohio River while traveling from Louisville to New Orleans. But why did this happen, and is anyone to blame?

Avoid horses.

References:

Beam, A. (2013, May 15). New Albany bicentennial: Lucy Walker steamboat disaster. News and Tribune. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/floyd_county/new-albany-bicentennial-lucy-walker-steamboat-disaster/article_bb8390c9-5788-5d9e-8af0-90856cdaa7c1.html

Benton, B. (2021, October 10). Chatsworth's chief Vann House recognized by National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom: Chattanooga Times Free Press. Times Free Press. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2021/oct/10/chatsworths-chief-vann-house-recognized-natio/

Lira, C. (n.d.). Brief History of the Steam Engine. Steam Engine History. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/

Morris, B. (2011, October 19). The Ill-Fated Lucy Walker. Greensburg Daily News. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://www.greensburgdailynews.com/opinion/columns/the-ill-fated-lucy-walker/article_15badb55-235e-5b82-aa8b-b92024dc2cfa.html

The Southern Indiana Genealogical Quarterly Vol. XXIII. (2001, April). Lucy Walker steamboat disaster. Genealogy Trails History Group. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from http://genealogytrails.com/ind/floyd/news-steam-boat.html