Passing Point is the true story of the collision of the steamers
United States
and
America
on the Ohio River near Warsaw, Kentucky, on the night of December 4, 1868. This accident was one of the worst river disasters in U.S. history, causing dozens of fatalities. The steamers collided due to pilot error, and both burned and sank when barrels of oil and whiskey in the cargo burst and the contents reached the furnaces of the steamer
.