At 0200 on April 27,1865, the side wheeler riverboat the Sultana was struggling to fight the heavy southbound current of The Mississippi River. It was a rainy and chilly night and the boat was heavily overloaded with Union soldiers trying to return home from the war. Suddenly one of its boilers exploded, triggering one of the worst maritime disaster in United States history. This occurred 7 miles north of Memphis. The Mississippi was near flood stage and as many jumped into the icy water thinking they were near shore, they were in the middle of the channel. The 260 long Sultana was valued at $90,000.00 and was licensed to carry 376 passengers, however on this night it was carrying 2,685 people. Most of the passengers were Union war prisoners from Andersonville Georgia and Cahaba Alabama. Estimates range from 1,700 to 2,100 were killed..
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 15:51:07 +0000
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