When the huge riverboat Sultana went down in 1865, the death toll was 1,547 even more than the 1,512 lives lost on the Titanic.
The doomed Sultana had been launched in 1863. "She was part of the Union's effort during the Civil War, carrying troops and supplies up and down the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers," said historian Vlrgil Carrington Jones.
Shortly after the war ended, the Sultana was ordered to Vicksburg, Miss., to bring home Union soldiers who'd been held prisoner at Andersonville, a Confederate prison camp. By then the ship was in wretched condition, but the Army decided to postpone a much-needed overhaul. It wanted to transport the men, who were waiting anxiously to get north to their homes and families.
Most were walking skeltons; many had to be carried on litters. All were in high spirits. Even though the ship was outfitted to carry only 376, the Army insisted she take on more solders eager to reach Cairo, IL., where they were to be mustered out of service," said Jones. "The enormous load totaled 2,200 people, plus 60 horses and mules and 100 hogs."On April 27, 1865, the ship was paddling upriver
just above Memphis when it was suddenly rocked by a gigantic explosion. One of the boilers had exploded, spreading fire that soon engulfed the entire vessel. "Most of the men were former POWs who were weak, diseased and not fit for swimming" said the historian. "Those who didn't die in the explosion or fire drowned in the dark waters. "It was the worst marine disaster in U.S. history." Yet few people have heard about this catastrophe because of another tragedy that kept the news off the front page.On April 14, Abraham Lincoln had been shot and papers were still following up the story The Sultana was relegated to a few paragraphs in the back pages and was soon forgotten.
The Sultana Electronic Book Store
The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster by Jerry O. Potter
Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 by Gene Eric Salecker
Last Updated: April 03, 2004