Sultana (ship, 1863)
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The Sultana was a paddle steamer , which in the American Civil War as a troop carrier was used. Its sinking on April 27, 1865, with around 1,700 deaths, was the worst shipping disaster in US history .
history
The Confederate surrender in April 1865 marked the end of the American Civil War. Thousands of liberated prisoners of war who had served in the Union armed forces were trapped in the southern states. Most of them were so weakened that the authorities wanted to bring them back to their homeland as quickly as possible. They were brought to Vicksburg , Mississippi , from where they were shipped north by steamboat on the Mississippi towards Cairo , Illinois .
Built in 1863 in Cincinnati , Ohio , the Sultana was one of the many ships that normally carried passengers , mail, and goods between New Orleans , Louisiana and St. Louis , Missouri , and now served as troop transports.
The catastrophe
On April 26, 1865 at 2:00 a.m., the Sultana cast off from Vicksburg with about 85 crew members, 70 travelers and about 2,300 returning soldiers. Actually it was only approved for 356 people (crew and passengers), but under the given circumstances the regulations were ignored. Heavily overloaded she went upstream and reached after 17 hours, at about 19:00, Memphis , Tennessee . The ship had four of the then newly developed shell boilers , which required special boiler feed water , but were added on the Sultana by the muddy river water, so that they had to be cleaned in Vicksburg and Helena , Arkansas . The Sultana stashed coal in Memphis and continued her journey upstream.
On 27 April, at 2:40, exploded a steam boiler of the Sultana , 13 kilometers upstream from Memphis. Sharp-edged, glowing steel parts pierced the decks overcrowded with sleeping soldiers. Within a few minutes, two more boilers exploded, the battered ship and its passengers caught fire , causing the decks above to collapse. Hundreds of people jumped into the water, where some were killed by the falling chimneys. The noise of the explosion alerted other boats, but they could not help. Due to the prevailing panic, it is still unknown at what time the Sultana went down, but it must have been after sunrise. Exact reports are not available, but an estimated 1,700 people were killed - about 200 people more than 47 years later in the sinking of the Titanic . Today there is a memorial in Knoxville , Tennessee, to commemorate the victims of the Sultana .
“We have already reported that 1,400 Union soldiers returning home from captivity perished miserably on the Mississippi River. The following are the details of this terrible event: The steamer 'Sultana', coming from New Orleans, entered Vicksburg on April 21st. His boiler was already damaged back then and was repaired in Vicksburg (unfortunately imperfectly). After that happened, he took on board soldiers and 200 officers recently released from the prisons of Cahawba and Andersonville in 1996, reached Memphis safely on the 28th, took in coal and continued his voyage. But before he could travel seven English miles the cauldron burst and a few minutes later the ship was in full flames. It burned down except for the mirror . Of the 2106 people on board, only 203 escaped without serious injuries, 500 are in the hospital in Memphis, the rest, along with the captain, are to be regarded as lost, but some seriously injured people were fished out of the river when the mail left. "
“The Telegraph reported that 1400 Union soldiers returning home from captivity had perished miserably on the Mississippi. The following are the details of this terrible event: The steamer 'Sultana', coming from New Orleans, entered Vicksburg on April 21st. His boiler was already damaged back then and was repaired in Vicksburg (unfortunately imperfectly). After that happened, he took on board soldiers and 200 officers recently released from the prisons of Cahawba and Andersonville in 1996, reached Memphis safely on the 28th, took in coal and continued his voyage. But before he had covered another seven English miles, the boiler burst and a few minutes later the ship was in full flames. It burned down except for the mirror . Of the 2196 people on board, only 203 escaped without serious injuries, 500 are in the hospital in Memphis, the rest and the captain are to be regarded as lost, but some seriously injured people were fished out of the river when the mail left. "
Speculation about sabotage
Shortly after the sinking, there was speculation about sabotage as a possible cause of the accident. " Infernal machines " (explosive charges disguised as lumps of coal) were hidden in the fuel supply .
“In the government workshops at Richmond, infernal machines have been found which have been given the appearance of large lumps of coal, such as are used to heat steam boats. These counterfeit coals were thrown by secret agents under the huge piles of coal from which the Mississippi steamers took their supplies! One has reason to believe that the terrible catastrophe of which the report of May 2nd (downfall of the Sultana with 1,600-1,700 people) was brought about by such a hellish device. "
“A Mr. Ripley, of Rutland, Vermont, has in his possession an ingeniously contrived torpedo, made to exactly resemble a large lump of coal. This was the artful contrivance employed with much success by the rebels on the Mississippi, and it is suspected that the awful disaster to the "Sultana" was accomplished by one of these diabolical things. Ths one in possession of Mr. Ripley was sent to him from Richmond by his son, General Ripley, and was found in the private cabinet of Jefferson Davis after his flight from the city. "
“In the possession of a Mr. Ripley of Rutland , Vermont , is an ingeniously designed torpedo that resembles a large lump of coal. This was the elaborate invention used with great success by the rebels on the Mississippi, and it is believed that one of these diabolical things carried out the terrible catastrophe of the "Sultana". The one owned by Mr. Ripley had been sent to him from Richmond by his son, General Ripley . It was in Jeff's private cabinet. Davis found after his escape from the city. "
See also
Web links
literature
- Alan Huffman: Sultana: Surviving the Civil War, Prison, and the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History. Smithsonian Books, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-06-147054-7 .
- Jerry O Potter: The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster . Pelican Pub., Gretna [La.] 1992, ISBN 0-88289-861-2 .
Individual proof
- ↑ Patrick Jennings: A new look at the explosion that caused the Sultana disaster . Ed .: The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Hartford May 2015, p. 7 (English, wordpress.com [PDF; accessed April 27, 2020]).
- ↑ The appalling disaster on the Mississippi . In: Community newspaper . May 18, 1865, p. 315 ( ANNO - AustriaN Newspapers Online [accessed April 28, 2020]).
- ↑ The Misfortune on the Mississippi . In: Klagenfurter Zeitung . May 19, 1865, p. 459 ( ANNO - AustriaN Newspapers Online [accessed April 28, 2020]).
- ^ A b Miscellanea . In: The Mechanics' Magazine . June 9, 1865, p. 370 ( ANNO - AustriaN Newspapers Online [accessed April 28, 2020]).
- ↑ a b From North America . In: New Free Press . May 31, 1865, p. 2 ( ANNO - AustriaN Newspapers Online [accessed April 28, 2020]).