The Sultana has been said to be the worst maritime disaster in US history. With a legal maximum of 376 passengers, there were approximately 2500 passengers at the time of the explosion. About 70% of the passengers were killed.
The disaster can be traced back to Captain J. Cass Mason, who some say had been bribed to overload the ship. As the Sultana traveled down the Mississippi to New Orleans, it had a job to spread the news of President Lincoln’s assassination. The passengers, however, were all Union soldiers who had just been released by confederate prisons.
A boiler had exploded in the twilight hours of April 27th, 1865, which had triggered the explosion of two more boilers. More than 1000 passengers had been scalded to death. Most of those who had survived and jumped off the boat in time eventually drowned because they were too weak to escape. Those who did survive the fierce waters of the river were saved by Confederate soldiers.
Although the Sultana was a tremendous loss for the people, many argue that it was more than just a tragedy. It showed soldiers from the Union being helped by the Confederacy. Those Union soldiers would have been attacked had they arrived on the Sultana. However, the Southern soldiers trusted their morals instead and helped the weak and dying soldiers.
Unfortunately, the disaster was overshadowed by President Lincoln's death as well as the death of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
The Sultana demonstrates how huge disasters can become normalized as society grows worse. Very few people knew about the worst maritime tragedy in US History. One theory explains that the government had the disaster downplayed in an attempt to hide that one of their employees had been bribed and could have caused this to happen. However, a more believable theory is that the country knew a bit about it, but they were so incredibly sick of all the death going on during the war that they ignored it.
Why is this important?
The explosion of the Sultana is an example of a time when there was no South and North, no Union and Confederacy, just saviors and survivors. Additionally, if it hadn't exploded, there would have been an attack on the boat instead.
The Sultana impacted the Civil War by killing a large amount of Union soldiers as well as bringing people together.
The disaster can be traced back to Captain J. Cass Mason, who some say had been bribed to overload the ship. As the Sultana traveled down the Mississippi to New Orleans, it had a job to spread the news of President Lincoln’s assassination. The passengers, however, were all Union soldiers who had just been released by confederate prisons.
A boiler had exploded in the twilight hours of April 27th, 1865, which had triggered the explosion of two more boilers. More than 1000 passengers had been scalded to death. Most of those who had survived and jumped off the boat in time eventually drowned because they were too weak to escape. Those who did survive the fierce waters of the river were saved by Confederate soldiers.
Although the Sultana was a tremendous loss for the people, many argue that it was more than just a tragedy. It showed soldiers from the Union being helped by the Confederacy. Those Union soldiers would have been attacked had they arrived on the Sultana. However, the Southern soldiers trusted their morals instead and helped the weak and dying soldiers.
Unfortunately, the disaster was overshadowed by President Lincoln's death as well as the death of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
The Sultana demonstrates how huge disasters can become normalized as society grows worse. Very few people knew about the worst maritime tragedy in US History. One theory explains that the government had the disaster downplayed in an attempt to hide that one of their employees had been bribed and could have caused this to happen. However, a more believable theory is that the country knew a bit about it, but they were so incredibly sick of all the death going on during the war that they ignored it.
Why is this important?
The explosion of the Sultana is an example of a time when there was no South and North, no Union and Confederacy, just saviors and survivors. Additionally, if it hadn't exploded, there would have been an attack on the boat instead.
The Sultana impacted the Civil War by killing a large amount of Union soldiers as well as bringing people together.