In 1888 a former Confederate saboteur claimed on his deathbed that he had caused the wreck by placing a “coal torpedo” on the ship, that is, a hollow cast iron device filled with gunpowder and camouflaged to look like a piece of coal. Chester D.] on Amazon.com. Boone County Indiana. The steamer registered 1,719 tons and normally carried a crew of 85. (The group is still in existence, by the way -- composed of the survivors' descendants.) The explosion threw many passengers and crew into the water, destroyed a large part of the boat and started a fire that quickly destroyed the rest of the boat. April 27th 2018 marks the 153rd anniversary of the sinking of the Sultana in 1865. The last of the Southern survivors, and last overall survivor, was Private Charles M. Eldridge of the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry, who died at his home at age 96 on September 8, 1941, more than 76 years after the Sultana disaster. Sultana departed Vicksburg on April 24, 1865. Sultana. Many bodies were never found. In 1863, the Sultana was built in Cincinnati and began sailing the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, mainly from St. Louis to New Orleans. Months In Cahaba And Andersonville Prisons. Removed, when ten years old to Michigan, thence to Minnesota, and back again to Michigan. The Sultana was a steamboat with a regular route from St. Louis to New Orleans through the Mississippi River. WMC-TV in Memphis did a fantastic story this week about Marion, the Sultana Disaster and the Sultana Museum - both present and proposed. Constructed of wood in 1863 by the John Litherbury Boatyard in Cincinnati, she … Many survivors were from the Buckeye State, but those in the South eventually decided to mostly gather in Knoxville, meaning there would be two main survivors groups – one in Ohio, the other in Tennessee. They were survivors of the sinking of the Sultana, a steamboat that exploded and sank on the Mississippi River, just seven miles away from the city of Memphis. Removed, when ten years old to Michigan, thence to Minnesota, and back again to Michigan. Lisa O'Neal, a member of the Marion Chamber of Commerce and a lead advocate for the museum and history of the event, explained that onboard the Sultana was a pet alligator named Sal, who was cherished by the passengers and crew. Over 2,100 people left Vicksburg in the steamboat, which also carried cargo bound upriver. He was a survivor of the Sultana disaster. Constructed of wood in 1863 by the John Litherbury Boatyard in Cincinnati, she was intended for the lower Mississippi cotton trade. The loss of the 'Sultana' was the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history, up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sultana was a Mississippi River side-wheel steamboat, which exploded on April 27, 1865, killing 1,168 people in the worst maritime disaster in United States history.. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The loss of life is officially listed as 1,400 while it was the general belief of the survivors that owing to incomplete records 1700 perished. The men had survived the atrocities of war, which had ended two weeks earlier when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The purpose of the Sultana Disaster Museum is to tell the story of the disaster that occurred on April 27, 1865, and the events that led up to it. It is our commitment to tell the whole story of the steamboat from its construction to its destruction. The survivors of the Sultana disaster were determined, however, to have their story remembered, or at least for it to never be forgotten. The Sultana disaster may not have been an accident. Their 1888 reunion was in Hillsdale. Saved by Sylvia Clemons. 8. The Sultana survivors' group started meeting in 1885. Chronicles of the Great Rebellion Against the United States of America (Philadelphia, PA: A. Winch, 1867), 95. The Sultana disaster was the worst maritime disaster in American history, causing more deaths than the sinking of the Titanic. This book, composed by Chester Berry, one of the survivors, is unique in that it gives firsthand account from well over 100 of the survivors of the tragedy in their own words. Chester Berry 1892. National meetings were held in Toledo, Ohio. Chester D. Berry, Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors: History of a Disaster (Lansing, MI: Darius D. Thorp, 1892), 14-16. Sultana was a Mississippi River side-wheel steamboat.On April 27, 1865, the boat exploded in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Enlisted August 18, 1862, at Marshall, Mich., in Company I, 20th Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Saved by Sylvia Clemons. Those lost on the Sultana continue to be remembered. The loss of the 'Sultana' was the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history, up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Perhaps the best summation for the remembrance of the Sultana disaster is in the words of one of its survivors, Cpl. The grouping consist if his walking cane standing 37 inches tall with the inscription Pvt. The wreck of the Sultana was discovered in 1982, 32 feet below ground in a soybean field in Arkansas. The Sultana was manned by a crew of 85 and left New Orleans on April 21, 1865 with 100 passengers and a cargo that included sugar and livestock. On December 30, 1885, at a convention called in Fostoria, Ohio, there was a committee appointed, consisting of A. C. Brown, P. L. Horn, Wm. For the survivors of the Sultana and the communities on the banks of the Mississippi near the explosion, though, the disaster was hard to miss, writes Jon Hamilton for NPR. Passing boats and bystanders on both sides of the Mississippi helped pull survivors … Records relating to the April 27, 1865, explosion of the steamer "Sultana," including lists of those aboard the ship. U.S. Civil War- USS Santana Explosion Disaster. U.S. Civil War- USS Santana Explosion Disaster. This book, composed by Chester Berry, one of the survivors, is unique in that it gives firsthand account from well over 100 of the survivors of the tragedy in their own words. He enlisted in 1862, was captured in 1864, and then sent to the Cahaba prison camp in Alabama. In May of 1989, a monument to Sultana victims was placed in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. Of the survivors of that disaster, almost 50 were from one tight population center, composed of Blount, Sevier, and Knox counties. Cahaba Prison and The Sultana Disaster by William O. Bryant 1990. T he most terrible steamboat disaster in history was probably the loss of the Sultana in 1865. Some 1,700 returning Union Veterans died... yet the tragedy got very few headlines. Late in April of 1865, the Mississippi stood at flood stage. He said that the museum now has crossed an important threshold in fundraising. A monument erected by the survivors to the memory of the East Tennessee victims of the Sultana disaster stands in the Mount Olive Cemetery in Knoxville. Four years of war had ruined many levees, and the foaming water was over the banks for miles. Retired Judge John Fogleman, president of the Sultana Historic Preservation Society, is hoping that renewed efforst in fundraising will snowball now that it needs more space and more money. WYATT BAILEY served in the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry (Union) for about six months until he was captured at Athens, AL. All 25 soldiers were rescued, historians say, and the Fogelman home became a refuge for Sultana survivors. Passing boats and bystanders on both sides of the Mississippi helped pull survivors from the muddy water. But some of the most poignant stories involve Confederate soldiers rescuing their Union counterparts. “I saw many men mangled—some with arms and legs broken, others scalded and screaming in their agony… some crying or praying, some jumping in the water to escape from the fire and drowning.”—Pvt. Many Sultana experts put the death toll at 1,500 to 1,800, making the Sultana death toll higher than the Titanic. *** The loss of the 'Sultana' was the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history, up until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this post, I'd like to offer the following thoughts about When we should remember the Sultana.. He also survived the "Sultana" disaster on the Mississippi River. All 25 soldiers were rescued, historians say, and the Fogelman home became a refuge for Sultana survivors. Bryant, William O. Cahaba Prison and the Sultana Disaster.Tuscaloosa: The University It was the day after John Wilkes Booth’s assassination, so the sinking of the Sultana was crowded out of the headlines. Records indicate that 1,800 men died, making the Sultana incident the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Erected by survivors of the disaster, this unique Sultana monument has stood in the middle of Mount Olive Cemetery, off Maryville Pike, since 1916. This was true of prison camps on both sides, but life in the southern camps got considerably worse toward the end of the war when the Confederacy was having trouble feeding and caring for its own soldiers and citizens. American Civil War American History Common People Raising Brother America Civil War Us History. Sultana Disaster, April 1865 List of survivors from the steamer Sultana near Memphis, TN, April 27, 1865, consisting of paroled prisoners en route to Camp Chase, OH 1902 Sultana Survivors Association. 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