The explosion of the ship Sultana is the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history. On April 27, 1865, the overloaded ship (built for 376 passengers, but carrying 2,427) exploded and sank just north of Memphis. According to Wikipedia, the official count by the United States Customs Service of those who died is 1,800. Final estimates of survivors are about 550. Many of the dead were interred at the Memphis National Cemetery. Three victims of the wreck of the Sultana are interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.
There's a museum in Arkansas not far from here, and I'd planned to go before posting this. I haven't gone yet, but it's still on my list of close places I want to go.
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They showed this today on "Through the Decades." I thought of you when I heard the ship blew up close to Memphis. The TV show thought about 700 survived, so the estimates are a bit different. The piece said the dead had to be included with the other over 600,000 who died in the war. I haven't been to Wikipedia yet, but the piece said the riverboat owners got $5.00 for enlisted men and $10.00 for officers. No wonder the ship was overloaded. Greed is everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your visit to the museum in Arkansas.
It is a forgotten tragedy, happening the day after Lincoln's assassination. Most people still don't realize that it had the highest death toll of any ship loss including the Titanic.
DeleteI had never heard of this. Read the link on wikipedia. Figures it happened due to money and greed. How tragic! You'll have to let us know if you make it over to the museum.
ReplyDeleteI do want to go to the museum. The river has altered since the sinking, so I think the wreckage is buried underground somewhere in Arkansas. It is an interesting story. I read somewhere that other ships had plenty of room, but they were packed onto the Sultana anyway.
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