Topic starter
06/04/2011 9:52 am
April 27, 2011 marks the 146th anniversary of the Sultana Disaster about 2 miles north of Memphis upbound from New Orleans. It laid up at Vicksburg for a couple of days for boiler repair before taking on passengers and departing for St. Louis. Does anybody happen to know anything about the shipyard that did the initial repairs in 1865?
One of my great-great uncles was aboard the vessel and was lucky to have been able to grab a piece of wood and drift to the shore. He was just unlucky to have been on that vessel.
April 27th is not a good day for steamboats in my family. A grandfather on a different line is believed to have perished in the Julia Dean collision with the Rainbow near Slim Island in the Ohio River (near Mt. Vernon, Ind.) on that same date in 1857 - eight years before the Sultana.
I will not be on the river on April 27th.
06/04/2011 6:33 pm
SULTANA boilers
According to the book "The Sultana Tragedy" by Jerry O. Potter, page 51, the Sultana boiler work was done in Vicksburg by R.G. Taylor, a local boilermaker. Taylor recommended that two sheets of the leaking port side middle boiler be replaced. The boat's captain didn't want to do that because it would take too long and he might miss out on the lucrative business of carrying soldiers north. Taylor said he would not do any work other than replace the sheets. Eventually, however, the chief engineer convinced him to make smaller repairs, "to do the best he could under the circumstances." Taylor installed an 11" x 27" patch over the bulge in the boiler, without being allowed to first force back the bulge as he wanted. Taylor was assured that as soon as the boat reached St. Louis permanent repairs would be made. That, we know, unfortunately never happened.
06/04/2011 10:23 pm
For those who might not be aware of it, there is an ASSOCIATION OF SULTANA DESCENDANTS AND FRIENDS. Ms. Pam Newhouse is the contact person and editor of the quarterly newsletter, which has been published since 1990. Annual dues are $8. According to the Winter, 2011 issue of The Sultana Remembered, the next reunion is scheduled for April 29-30 at Mansfield, Ohio.
For further information:
Ms. Pam Newhouse
416 East Main Street
Madison, IN 47250
[email protected]
Image: SULTANA mural on floodwall at Vicksburg, MS. Portrays stop on April 24, 1865 at Vicksburg. Sponsored by J. Mack Gamble Fund of Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and Descendants of the SULTANA.
Topic starter
07/04/2011 2:45 am
Tom and Keith - Thank you so much for the information. I did not know about the repairs at Vicksburg, nor did I know about the Sultana Association. I'm probably going to have to join that now. Thank you again for the information.
In February, I wrote a short story called "Chimneyville" - the story of two brothers who were in a Civil War prison camp (loosely based on a real life event) and want to expand that to a novel. I'm planning on using the Sultana as a basis for a continuance of the story. You can read the original story here.
07/04/2011 6:49 am
Jeffery, I suggest you get hold of the book I mentioned, Potter's "The Sultana Tragedy." I think it has a lot of information you might find useful. It's a well written book. It covers the soldiers' hardships, especially those who were in Confederate POW camps, and it gives a detailed account of the greed and chicanery which led up to the tragedy. It also lists the boat's crew, civilian passengers, and soldiers on board. The author admits that these may not be complete or totally accurate, but they seem to be as much as possible. There are 14 Williams listed among the soldiers. If your g-g uncle's name was Williams he may be there.
Topic starter
07/04/2011 9:26 am
Thanks Tom. I ordered it (and five other books on the Sultana) last night. Need to give myself a "complete immersion" into this.
My first book, "Muskets and Memories: A Modern Man's Journey through the Civil War" is due out in July. I have a pretty good handle on the Civil War, though I am lacking in this area unfortunately.
07/04/2011 9:49 am
Jeff, if you haven't already done so, you might be interested in checking the offerings on Ebay. Type SULTANA DISASTER into the search box and there are a number of items, including a commemorative coin. Also listed is Gene Eric Salecker's fine book, Disaster on the Mississippi. Gene was a presenter at the Steamboat History Conference here in Louisville in 1996 and brought a model portraying the SULTANA, as she looked AFTER the explosion!