The end of paper Mississippi river ship SS Sultana.This EXPLODE by fireworks.Its made Only paper,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sultana 2,561 pages of documents related to the explosion of the steamer SS Sultana on the morning of April 27, 1865, the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Published Apr 28, 2020. Potter says he went to the library to learn more and wondered, "Why haven't I ever heard of this?" The boilers on the Sultana were less than three years old, but were in horrible condition. There were three primary reasons for the condition of the boilers and it was the combination of these that was the root cause of the tragedy. The tragedy that struck the Sultana that night remains the deadliest disaster in United States maritime history. Evidence like that may have led the government to downplay the Sultana tragedy, Potter says. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. The incompatibility put the boiler under more strain than it was designed for, which could cause the boiler to overheat and explode, especially when the ship was overcrowded and carried too much load. A board of inquiry later determined the cause to be insufficient water in the boilerovercrowding was not listed as a cause. Learn how your comment data is processed. Sons of Liberty Yet the wreck of the Sultana remains unfamiliar to the general public, an elision that has several probable causes. The Lusitania and the Blame Game: A Legitimate Target? "A few weeks earlier, he might have been attacking the Sultana if it had come in.". Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnson surrendered. Why Nobody Remembers America's Worst Maritime Disaster I wonder whether HSB has an archive that might help me determine exactly when and in what capacity Col. C.C. The violent and tremendous explosion tore the center out of the vessel, instantly scalding and burning some of the passengers with steam and fire. On April 27, 1865, at about 2:00 a.m., the Sultana was ten miles upriver from Memphis, Tennessee, with men sleeping on deck or anywhere they could find space when the straining boilers exploded, blowing the ship apart. Battles & Tribes, American Revolution Native Indians Sinking of the SS Sultana: Topics in Chronicling America When the Sultana left Vicksburg, it carried 2,100 troops and 200 civilians, more than six times its capacity. A boiler explodes, shattering the silence of the night and throwing the hopeless passengers of the SS Sultana into the Mississippi River. The modern day benefit to this disaster is the inspection and insurance industry as well as codes such as the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and the National Board Inspection Code. But some of the most poignant stories involve Confederate soldiers rescuing their Union counterparts. Advertising Notice Oh, the Humanity! As they approached the scene, the crew of the Bostonia threw bales of hay and anything else that would float to the struggling survivors. Only 600 people survived the explosion. An estimated 1,800 of the 2,400 passengers were killed when three of the ship's four boilers exploded almost at once and the Sultana sank into . Jerry O. Potter Sultana Collection - OCLC The Sultana was licensed to carry 356 passengers and crew, but on this occasion the boat may have been carrying as many as 2,485. That day, he says, the water was moving very quickly and contained a lot of trees and other debris. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. ASME.MVC.Models.DynamicPage.ContentDetailViewModel ContentDetailViewModel The Sultana made it only a few miles north of Memphis. What Happened to The Sultana: The Greatest Maritime Disaster in US Although the disaster got little press in its own time and remains little-known today, the city of Marion, Arkansas has ensured it is not forgotten. hide caption. "He told the captain and the chief engineer the boiler was not safe, but the engineer said he would have a complete repair job done when the boat made it to St. The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. The boat was 260 feet long and had an authorized capacity of 376 passengers and crew. PDF new look at the explosion that caused the Sultana disaster At 2:00 a.m. on April 27, 1865, when the boat was seven miles above Memphis, her boilers exploded. On the evening of April 26, the ship stopped at Memphis before cruising across the river to pick up coal in Arkansas. Sultana was a commercial side-wheel steamboat which exploded and sank on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, killing 1,167 people in what remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history. Although steam power was an exciting technology that appeared to offer limitless possibilities, boiler construction, manufacture, maintenance, and operation were hardly perfected when steamboats began appearing in American waters. And those aren't the only examples. Also, thank you and all of the folks at HSB for your excellent and ongoing work and dedication protecting lives and property around the world. The Sultana had headed upriver again when suddenly, in the middle of the night at 2am, she exploded. It stopped at Vicksburg, Mississippi, for repair of a leaky boiler. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. Stories about the disaster quickly faded from contemporary newspapers, leading some to suspect a cover-up by the War Department. "The river is at flood stage," he says as we watch a barge struggle to move up river, "very similar to what it was on April 27, 1865." Many of those who were not killed immediately perished as they tried to swim to shore. ", Discovery Gives New Ending To A Death At The Civil War's Close. Most of those on board were Union prisoners of war from Andersonville, Georgia, and Cahaba, Alabama, homeward bound after the end of the Civil War. A great series of blogs Patrick Many thanks. The SS Sultana, commissioned to transport paroled Union troops leaves New Orleans. What Happened? Library of Congress The operators of the Sultana hoped to capitalize on such an opportunity. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. And many of them were saved by local residents, like John Fogelman an ancestor of the city of Marion's current mayor, Frank Fogelman. "The paddle wheel fell off of one side, caused the boat to turn sideways; the other paddle wheel fell off.". On April 27, the Sultana had gotten just north of Memphis when the patched boiler exploded. They are needed for the website to function. ASME Membership (1 year) has been added to your cart. + Follow. The explosion resulted in the loss of 1,547 lives, surpassing the total number of deaths caused by the sinking of the Titanic. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured, ending the Civil War. Newspaper accounts suggest John Fogelman and his sons spotted the burning Sultana as the remains of the paddle-wheeler drifted downriver. caused the Sultana disaster In the early morning of April 27, 1865, just north of Memphis Tennessee, three of the four boilers on the Sultana steamboat exploded. Newspaper accounts suggest John Fogelman and his sons spotted the burning Sultana as the remains of the paddle-wheeler drifted downriver. Exact figures were never established and are still controversial. But another theory for the rapid disappearance of the Sultana from American historical memory might, ironically, be related to the fact that the Sultana was an utterly preventable tragedy, grounded in greed, bribery, war profiteering, and obvious criminal negligence. Everybody thinks their lives and personal safety are worth more than $10. Exploring solutions for equipment, cyber, innovation and loss control, The hidden danger lurking in your electrical box, Home more than 20 years old? Stay up-to-date with our articles. April 1865 was filled with exciting events the end of the Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth. But one of its lesser-known gory episodes actually happened after the war ended, as Union prisoners of war made their ways homeor tried to. He served in the 23rd Arkansas Cavalry, and he was tasked with, among other things, raiding ships going up and down the river, Frank Barton says. Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart: The Unkillable Soldier? To escape the burning steamer, some passengers leaped into the river, where they faced hours in the dark, frigid water listening to the shrieks and cries of the injured and dying. The explosion and resulting fire remain the largest maritime disaster in U.S. History. Top Image: The Sultana burns: half those on board would die in the explosion or drown in the Mississippi. The vessel was neither state of the art nor did it carry famous people. | READ MORE. The Steamboat Act of 1852 finally set standards for boiler construction and operation, including the hydrostatic testing of boilers and provision of steam safety valves, as well as licensing requirements for steamboat pilots and engineers. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. While in port, it was contracted by the U.S. Government to carry former Union prisoners of war from Confederate prisons, such as Andersonville and Cahaba, back into Northern territory. The Sultana, a typical side-wheeler coal-burning steamer, was built in 1863. The Tragedy On April 21, 1865, the Sultana left New Orleans for St. Louis. How well is it meeting the pledge to develop and deploy scalable zero-emission fuels? Fire consumed the wrecked ship, and most of those aboard were killed. The ill-fated Sultana in Helena, Ark., just before it exploded on April 27, 1865, with about 2,500 people aboard. var cdMetadata = { For the 150th anniversary of the disaster in 2015, the city of Marion, Arkansas created a museum that shows how the Sultana explosions happened and memorializes those aboard. Boiler explosion - Wikipedia At 2:00 a.m. on April 27, 1865, the magnificent side-wheeler riverboat Sultana was struggling against the surging current of the Mississippi River eight miles north of Memphis. "The war had just ended a few weeks before," he says. The overloaded Sultana before it sank on April 27, 1865 . But there were many other reasons the event didn't get much attention at the time. The end of the Civil War presented many new challenges to the victorious Union, among them a daunting number of nightmarish logistical tasks necessary for returning the country back to normal. The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. SS Sultana: The Greatest Maritime Disaster in U.S. History "The wind blew the fire to the rear, burned that out," Frank Fogelman says. Available at: https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/surviving-the-worst-the-wreck-of-the-sultana, Jennings, P, 2016. Your Privacy Rights Eventually the Sultana turned so that the wind was pushing the flames toward the bow, where 25 soldiers remained. A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. Why Did the S.S. Sultana Explode - Civil War Academy The Wreck of the Sultana. Those involved in steam power also noticed that huge loss of life due to common boiler explosions, happening as often as every four days in the 1850s, could be prevented if safety improvements were made as larger boilers were being built. Preservation Although there were sick and dying prisoners on the Sultana, the mood was good as many were headed home from war, or from prison. Mark Twains brother, Henry Clemens, died from injuries sustained from a boiler explosion on the Mississippi River steamer Pennsylvania in 1858. Combined with a lack of government or industry oversight, inspection, or regulation, such mechanical uncertainty meant that steamboat fires and boiler explosions were common occurrences. A group of the survivors met for many years every April 27 and ultimately erected a monument at Mount Olive Cemetery near Knoxville, Tennessee; it reads: In memory of the men who were on the Sultana that was destroyed, April 27, 1865, by explosion on the Mississippi river near Memphis, Tennessee.. hide caption. A disaster porn print industry arose to titillate Americans and morbidly monetize the grim tragedies. The Sultana was a 260-foot-long wooden steamboat, built in Cincinnati in 1863, which regularly transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans on the Mississippi River. A boiler explosion devastates the Sultana. PBSs History Detectives dedicated an episode to debunking the rumors of potential Confederate sabotage via a bomb disguised as a piece of coal. Decades before the sinking of the Titanic, in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the paddlewheel steamer SS Sultana exploded, then sank in flames in the . Transoceanic shipping industry has set multiple sustainability goals. Marion, across the river from Memphis, Tenn., is near the spot where the 260-foot side-wheeler came to rest. I just wish to give you a big thumbs up for your excellent info youve got here on this post. April 1865 was a busy month, Ambrose writes. On several occasions, as the Sultana steamed past a southbound steamboat or passed a small farm, the men crowded to one side to wave and holler. This was the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Shallow waters remained problematic obstacles into the early nineteenth century, but technological advances, chief among them vessels equipped with boiler-produced steam propulsion, allowed both for further navigation of shallows and for upriver navigation against strong currents.
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