who was the captain of the ss sultana

An estimated 1,800 people died in the explosion and ensuing fire more than died in the sinking of the Titanic. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. POTUS landmarks, oddities. An estimated 1,800 people died in the explosion and ensuing fire more than died in the sinking of the Titanic . The Sultana disaster remains an unresolved tragedy and the worst in American maritime history. A more extreme conspiracy posits that the whole incident had been a part of a master plan concocted by the Confederacy to sabotage Unionists on board. More than two decades later, survivors of the Sultana from across the country have met annually around the anniversary of the ships sinking to pay hommage. While in port, it was contracted by the U.S. Government to carry former Union prisoners of war from Confederate prisons, such as Andersonville and Cahaba, back into Northern territory. [4]:7985, While the Sultana burned, and the men on the steamboat were either already dead or fighting for their lives, the southbound steamer Bostona (No. Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. [18] Louden, a former Confederate agent and saboteur who operated in and around St. Louis, had been responsible for the burning of the steamboat Ruth. General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on the 9th. Dropping water levels could cause hot spots leading to metal fatigue, significantly increasing the risk of an explosion. The SS Sultanawhat remained of itdrifted for six miles, finally sinking near Marion, Arkansas. They were so close to being home, Potter said. The Sultana was a sidewheel Mississippi steamboat carrying almost two thousand recently-released Union prisoners-of-war back north at the end of the Civil War. To some, the lost lives of another 2,000 or so men perhaps seemed incomparable at the time. Eventually, the group settled on meeting in the Toledo, Ohio area. [4]:62, Sultana spent two days traveling upriver, fighting against one of the worst spring floods in the river's history. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), Union soldiers die in steamship explosion, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/union-soldiers-die-in-steamship-explosion, Navigator Ferdinand Magellan killed in the Philippines, U.S. agent William Eaton leads U.S. forces to the shores of Tripoli, South Africa holds first multiracial elections, Rocky Marciano retires as world heavyweight champion, D.A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ureLMb1wA, The same Union soldier continued, The agonizing shrieks and groans of the injured and dying were heart-rending, and the stench of burning flesh was intolerable and beyond my power of description., Another survivor, also from Ohio, wrote There were some killed in the explosion, lying in the bottom of the boat, being trampled upon, while some were crying and praying, many were cursing while others were singing That sight I shall never forget; I often see it in my sleep, and wake with a start.. He died in 1871, having escaped justice because of his numerous highly placed patronsincluding two presidents. Blackened wooden deck planks and timbers were found about 32 feet (10m) under a soybean field on the Arkansas side, about 4 miles (6km) from Memphis. But you never make it there. [19][20] Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay, the inventor of the coal torpedo, was a former resident of St. Louis and was involved in similar acts of sabotage against Union shipping interests. The main channel now flows about 2 miles (3km) east of its 1865 position. Some survivors were plucked from the tops of semi-submerged trees along the Arkansas shore. Already massively top heavy, the riverboat now lurched from side to side with every turn. The editors at RoadsideAmerica.com like: Travel with TV director/producer and former history teacher Harry Thomason as he tells you intriguing, frightening, and interesting stories of U.S. history you never knew! A depiction of the devastating explosion. The Sinking Of The Sultana: The Worst Maritime Disaster In U.S. History But rampant corruption by the officials manning these vessels caused various unwanted problems, most important of which . There were 6 times more people on board than the carrying capacity of 376. SS Sultana: The Greatest Maritime Disaster in U.S. History The painting showed. In April 1865, the Civil War was all but over. I mean, the war was almost 10 days from being over when they were captured.. Immediately, Captain Mason grabbed an armload of Cairo newspapers and headed south to spread the news, knowing that telegraphic communication with the southern states had been almost totally cut off because of the recently-ended American Civil War. [4]:72 Sultana subsequently arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, around 7:00 PM, and the crew began unloading 120 tons (109 tonnes) of sugar from the hold. Fire, drowning and exposure would kill many hundreds more. Sultana had tubular boilers filled with 24 horizontal five-inch flues. Captain Mason allowed 1,866 . Stanley Lord - Wikipedia The men were packed into every available space as all cabin spaces were already filled with civilian passengers; the overflow was so severe that in some places, the decks began to creak and sag and had to be supported with heavy wooden beams. The Explosion of the SS Sultana - NoonPi [24]:193197, Despite the magnitude of the disaster, no one was ever formally held accountable. The Sultana Disaster | American Battlefield Trust The steamer registered 1,719 tons[2] and normally carried a crew of 85. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! Most boarded the Sultana, headed for Cairo, Illinois. The Last Voyage Of The SS SULTANA - Mike Sirota Charcoal Hammered No. In some places the river was three miles wide. Natasha Ishak is a staff writer at All That's Interesting. When I came to my senses I found myself surrounded by wreckage, and in the midst of smoke and fire, wrote one Ohio soldier in a collection of survivor essays titled, Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors. The Sultana steamed north up the Mississippi, but the severe overcrowding and faster river current caused by the spring thaw put increased pressure on its newly patched boilers. At 2 a.m. on April 27, 1865, about seven miles north of Memphis, its boilers exploded, one after another. No one was held accountable. This one, although hundreds of miles from the disaster, was erected in 1916 by a small group of local survivors to memorialize Tennessee's victims. Sultana was a commercial side-wheel steamboat which exploded and sank on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, killing 1,169 people in what remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history. [4]:50,5556 Although Sultana had a legal capacity of only 376, by the time she backed away from Vicksburg on the night of April 24, she was severely overcrowded with over 1,953 paroled prisoners, 22 guards from the 58th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, over 70 fare-paying cabin passengers, and 85 crew members, for a total of 2,130 people. Such a contract could pay huge dividends, and Mason convinced local military authorities to pick up the entire contingent despite the presence of two other steamboats at Vicksburg. The worst maritime tragedy in American History happened at 2:00 a.m. April 27, 1865, on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee when a 260 foot wooden hulled, 3 story steamboat named Sultana exploded. The Federal government was paying $5 each to anyone bringing enlisted troops home, and $10 apiece for officers. To me, thats the tragedy. But a more reasonable explanation as to why the disaster was so easily forgotten is that it had been overshadowed by a bigger, more historically significant tragedy the assassination of then-president Abraham Lincoln. R. G. Taylor, the boilermaker on the ship, advised Captain J. Cass Mason that two sheets on the boiler had to be replaced, but Mason ordered Taylor to simply patch the plates until the ship reached St. Louis. The Explosion of the SS Sultana - PEimpact - Recognizing the impact of PEs Under the command of Captain James Cass Mason of St. Louis, the SS Sultana left St. Louis on April 13, 1865 on a journey to New Orleans. Mason quickly agreed to Hatch's offer, hoping to gain much money through this deal. Additionally, it was a particularly bad day to be out on the water. More on Sultana, Worst Death Boat in U.S. History. [8], In 2015, on the 150th anniversary of the disaster, an interim Sultana Disaster Museum was opened in Marion, Arkansas, the closest town to the buried remains of the steamboat,[citation needed] across the Mississippi River from Memphis. "At 2 a.m., one of the boilers exploded, resulting in two other boilers exploding," Potter says. In 1929, only two men attended the southern reunion. 2) The use of the sediment-laden Mississippi River water to feed the boilers. With a bulging seam on her boiler, the ships mechanic wanted to cut it out and install a new plate, easily three days work. At around 2:00AM on April 27, 1865, when Sultana was about seven miles (11km) north of Memphis, its patched boiler suddenly and violently exploded, killing 400-500 men instantly. 1, which tends to become brittle with prolonged heating and cooling. Given as the "John Lithoberry Shipyard" on Ohio Historical Marker 1831 (1999) on the Ohio River at Sawyer Point. On April 24, 1865, the Sultana loaded for its trip north. hide caption. But behind the devastation lurked conspiracy, foul-play, and negligence, that perhaps suggest the disaster could have been avoided. Before reaching Vicksburg, one of its four boilers began leaking. Shortly after leaving Memphis, Tennessee on April 27th, the overstrained boilers exploded, blowing apart the center of the boat and starting an uncontrollable fire. Sultana Ship - Why Did the S.S. Sultana Explode - Civil War Academy SS Sultana - Tragedy on the River Quiz - Fun Trivia Most were Union soldiers, newly released from Confederate prison camps. The SS Sultana Disaster, 1865 - LinkedIn I would have never been born.. [citation needed]. The SS Sultana | WVTF On April 25, 1865, the Sultana left New Orleans with 100 passengers. At 2:00am on April 27, Masons temporary boiler patch exploded. In April of 1865, shortly after the assassination of President Lincoln, the vessel, under the command of Captain James Mason, headed south, bound for New Orleans. Fortunately, the sturdy railings around the twin openings of the main stairway prevented the upper deck from crushing down completely onto the middle deck. Captain Frederic Speed, a Union officer who sent the 1,953 paroled prisoners into Vicksburg from the parole camp, was charged with grossly overcrowding Sultana and found guilty. To this day, Mason holds on to her late grandfathers official survivors certificate that he received in September 1888 from the Sultana Survivors Association. Sultana, Worst Death Boat in U.S. History - Roadside America The ill-fated Sultana in Helena, Ark., just before it exploded on April 27, 1865, with about 2,500 people aboard. For the descendants of Sultana survivors like Mary Beth Mason, keeping the memory of what happened alive is an important way to honor their ancestors. Chugging up the muddy Mississippi River in the spring of 1865, the SS Sultana steamer was dangerously overcrowded, carrying 2,300 Union soldiers just released from prison camps in the South. The captain was paid for each passenger he could pack on board (He did not survive). The sediment tended to settle on the bottom of the boilers or clog between the flues and leave hotspots. Newspaper accounts suggest John Fogelman and his sons spotted the burning Sultana as the remains of the paddle-wheeler drifted downriver. Some passengers burned on the boat, wrote Potter. These fellows felt history forgot about them Were following the wishes of the original survivors to keep the story alive..
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