Can't let that "single most destructive shot" claim go unchallenged. When the US transport steamer Champion No. 5 took a shot through the boiler during the Red River Campaign, the death toll was supposedly somewhere near 200, almost all of whom were contrabands packed onto the boat and being taken to "safety" by the Yankees. (The Champion No. 5 also suffered no permanent damage - unlike her occupants - and was soon back in service, after having her allegiance switched to the Confederacy.)