I was watching BookTV the other night and caught part of a segment featuring Alan Huffman’s book Sultana: Surviving the Civil War, Prison, and the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History.
I was surprised to hear that the Sultana was the deadliest maritime disaster in United States history. (More on the disaster here).
In short, a boiler blew on a severely-overcrowded steamboat just north of Memphis, causing approximately 1,800 ex-Union soldier POWs to burn, drown, or freeze to death. [To put this death toll in context, 1,758 Union soldiers died at Shiloh, and 1,517 people died when the Titanic sunk].
I’m sure I’ve read about this incident at one time or other in passing–I was a history major, after all–but for whatever reason it didn’t stick with me. News of the sinking was largely overshadowed at the time by the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln. After the event people were reluctant to investigate and pursue the army corruption that had contributed to the disaster because the nation was recovering from a war that this same military had just won. Thus, it has largely been forgotten.
What makes my ignorance of this event even more noteworthy is that there’s a local tie-in. Since 1865, there have been many reunions of Sultana survivors, descendants, or historians here in East Tennessee, including one this spring. There’s also a memorial marker in the Mt. Olive Baptist Church in South Knoxville (picture).
I’ve ridden by that cemetery a number of times, but never stopped there. Sometime I should. It a shame to miss out on the history that’s hidden in plain sight.
For updates on all things Sultana, check out the Sultana Disaster blog.
