S.S. Sultana Disaster (150th Anniversary)

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Today is the anniversary of the S.S. Sultana disaster on the Mississippi River.

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If you wrote a fiction about men that survived up to 9 months of hell on earth (Andersonville) survived that, and perished in an overloaded riverboat disaster, it would not sell because no one would consider it credible ....reality is often harsher and more incredible than fiction
 
If you wrote a fiction about men that survived up to 9 months of hell on earth (Andersonville) survived that, and perished in an overloaded riverboat disaster, it would not sell because no one would consider it credible ....reality is often harsher and more incredible than fiction

Amen!
 
If you wrote a fiction about men that survived up to 9 months of hell on earth (Andersonville) survived that, and perished in an overloaded riverboat disaster, it would not sell because no one would consider it credible ....reality is often harsher and more incredible than fiction
Men from the Cahaba Prison were also on the boat , they had had to travel from the prison site to Vicksburg to be exchanged and then they got on the Sultana.
 
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This marker at the Alliance City Cemetery in Stark County, Ohio, tells of Sultana Tragedy. The back lists the names of members of the 115th Ohio Regiment that formed in Massillon, Ohio in September 1862 who perished during the Civil War. Eight members of the regiment died in the Sultana explosion while three men, Jacob Schafer, John Zaiser and F. A. Clapsaddle survived the disaster. Eight members of the 115th died in the explosion of the Sultana, eight of disease, two as POW, and two of battle wounds.

The story of the 115th Ohio is documented in War Behind the Lines, The Civil War History of The 115th Ohio Infantry Regiment by Rexford G. Wiggers. The regiment, composed of many craftsmen, was involved in building and guarding several blockhouses on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. This is an excellent read.

The story of many of the survivors is recorded by Rev. Chester Berry in "Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors." In it Clapsaddle and many others describe their experiences of the Sultana and the night of the explosion. In the book Berry was documenting these experiences to present to Congress to provide pensions for the survivors of the "lost Sultana." Available in print, it can be read online in various archive and openlibrary sites.

Zaiser tells of the capture of the blockhouse, his capture, march to Andersonville, imprisonment, release, travel to Vicksburg, the explosion and his survival in an unpublished manuscript provide to me by his great granddaughter Tanny Zetz. At the end of his story he states as to the opinion as to the cause of the explosion. His answer is: ". . . it was a concocted scheme of the southern aristocracy in and about Memphis. They did not want those comrades who had suffered at Andersonville and Kahaba to go home as living witnesses of the horrible treatment in thine Hellish pens. Interesting thought?

Thanks for bringing back this thread.

 

This marker at the Alliance City Cemetery in Stark County, Ohio, tells of Sultana Tragedy. The back lists the names of members of the 115th Ohio Regiment that formed in Massillon, Ohio in September 1862 who perished during the Civil War. Eight members of the regiment died in the Sultana explosion while three men, Jacob Schafer, John Zaiser and F. A. Clapsaddle survived the disaster. Eight members of the 115th died in the explosion of the Sultana, eight of disease, two as POW, and two of battle wounds.

The story of the 115th Ohio is documented in War Behind the Lines, The Civil War History of The 115th Ohio Infantry Regiment by Rexford G. Wiggers. The regiment, composed of many craftsmen, was involved in building and guarding several blockhouses on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. This is an excellent read.

The story of many of the survivors is recorded by Rev. Chester Berry in "Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors." In it Clapsaddle and many others describe their experiences of the Sultana and the night of the explosion. In the book Berry was documenting these experiences to present to Congress to provide pensions for the survivors of the "lost Sultana." Available in print, it can be read online in various archive and openlibrary sites.

Zaiser tells of the capture of the blockhouse, his capture, march to Andersonville, imprisonment, release, travel to Vicksburg, the explosion and his survival in an unpublished manuscript provide to me by his great granddaughter Tanny Zetz. At the end of his story he states as to the opinion as to the cause of the explosion. His answer is: ". . . it was a concocted scheme of the southern aristocracy in and about Memphis. They did not want those comrades who had suffered at Andersonville and Kahaba to go home as living witnesses of the horrible treatment in thine Hellish pens. Interesting thought?

Thanks for bringing back this thread.


Thank you for sharing!

Bill
 
This is a part of a post I made on the other Sultana anniversary thread. . . . About survivor stories.

The story of many survivors is recorded by Rev. Chester Berry in "Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors."
Berry contacted very many of the survivors and recorded their memories of the event. He was collecting the information to present to congress to provide pensions to survivors of the lost Sultana. Available in print, it can be read online on various archive and openlibrary websites. I forget how many stories are recorded by maybe 50 or more? Interesting reading.
 
It's incredible how much negligence, shady deals and just downright bad luck led to the disaster being larger than it should have been.
Steamboat disasters had been common before the US Civil War. They were a major reason why passenger traffic switched to railroads. Rail accidents were common, but survivable.
 
Men from the Cahaba Prison were also on the boat , they had had to travel from the prison site to Vicksburg to be exchanged and then they got on the Sultana.
Some people endure seeming endless misery and somehow make it back to sanity - some books come to mind Skeletons on the Sahara and Unbroken come to mind immediately. When I think of ways I felt mistreated.....compared to these guys I feel like a fool
 
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