At 0200 on 27 April 1865, when the boat was seven miles above Memphis, her boilers exploded. Steamboat companies often made huge profits by carrying tons of cargo to rapidly growing communities. After days in flood stage, the Mississippi River appeared to be at crest in Lansing, Iowa Friday evening as the river has spent hours below the max daily crest. In later years the steamboats pushed huge rafts of logs from the forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota to sawmills farther down the river. Although the patched boiler was not the cause of the disaster, it was certainly indicative that the Sultana had faulty boilers. The ability to navigate these rivers was of great importance in the settlement of Iowa before railroads. FS: It seems to this reader that one of the main reasons for such a series of disasters for vessels named Sultana is that the owners of the steamers and the people entrusted with actually navigating the ships [boats] were ignoring the fact that overcrowding may have been the principal reason for the long list of tragedies. The boat was 260 feet long and had an authorized capacity of 376 passengers and crew. The owners of the Effie Afton decided to take the railroad companies that had built the bridge to court. A potential reader should care about this story because it shows that greed and corruption in the government is not a new thing. FS: What was the role played by the last Sultana in the Civil War, and how significant was that role? The steamboat business always had been a risky affair. While the Titanic caused more deaths, the great ocean liner was a British vessel and carried people from several different countries. Steamboat Disasters - Encyclopedia of Arkansas The Sultana sank in the Mississippi River near Marion, and over the years, the wreck was eventually covered with silt. Unlike many of the nautical discoveries in. Yet Captain Mason of the Sultana, and Captain Reuben Hatch, the chief quartermaster at Vicksburg, saw no problem in crowding as many men as possible on board the boat, hoping to reap the biggest profit possible. "The wind blew the fire to the rear, burned that out," Frank Fogelman says. The remains of a ship on the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 17, 2022, after recently being revealed due to the low water level. (Post-Dispatch). GES: Readers should care about the Sultana since it was the greatest maritime disaster in American history. During the gold rush to Montana in the 1860s, steamboats traveled far up the Missouri to early mining towns. In 1929, only two men attended the southern reunion. The Tricky Missouri River and the Steamboat Bertrand, The First Bridge Over the Mississippi and the Effie Afton, Majestic Riverboat Reigned on the Mississippi, Simulated travel guide describing travel conditions in Iowa from 1830 to 1879, Personal accounts from a steamboat captain describing life on the Mississippi transporting lumber, Article describes the history of steamboats in Iowa City in the 1800s, Transcribed official records, newspaper clippings, historical accounts and diary entries about life on the Mississippi River, Transcribed official records, newspaper clippings, historical accounts and diary entries about life on the Missouri River, Audio story about the last riverboat gambling cruise of the Mississippi Belle II in 2007, Ginalie Swaim Ed., Steaming Up the River,. And many of them were saved by local residents, like John Fogelman an ancestor of the city of Marion's current mayor, Frank Fogelman. When was it going to stop and where were the numbers going to end? "All them boys . When railroads started carrying freight across the country, the days of the steamboats were over. By the post-World War II era, screw-propellered, diesel-powered, flat-nosed towboats dotted the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi River Systems that once had hosted the Steamboat Age. "It was like a tremendous bomb going off in the middle of where these men were," Potter says. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel searches the waters near the east bank of the Mississippi River near the I-10 bridge, just before noon, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, after a man fell from the American Queen . In Malta Bend, Missouri, there's one that sank loaded down with expensive and rare trading . Subscribe now and never hit a limit. It didn't run for several years during World War II because wartime supply restrictions blocked needed upgrades to the boilers. 2 likes, 0 comments - BHYHA (@bhyhapodcast) on Instagram: "On this day in 1865.The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killi." BHYHA on Instagram: "On this day in 1865.The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. Leyhe died in 1956 in St. Louis at 83. The power of the boilers came with risk - the water levels in the fire tubes had to be carefully maintained at all times. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 1992. ARCHERAt Galena, from St. Louis, Sept. 8, 1845; sunk by collision with steamer "Di Vernon", in chute between islands 521 and 522, five miles above mouth of Illinois River, Nov. 27, 1851; was cut in two, and sunk in three minutes, with a loss of forty-one lives. Catchers once in a lifetime lunge saves Cardinals, The world watches (and makes donations) as St. Louis bald eagle raises eaglet from a rock, Governor threatens to keep Missouri lawmakers in session over transgender rules, Barat Academy in Chesterfield to close after years of financial troubles, Four young people die in Old Monroe head-on crash, Court records online include private information for thousands of Missouri residents, Archdiocese releases third draft of proposed changes to St. Louis parishes. The Sultana should be remembered because what happened to her need not have happened. Tubular boilers were discontinued from use on steamboats plying the Lower Mississippi after two more steamboats with tubular boilers exploded shortly after the Sultana explosion. No one seemed to question the danger of a steamboat race until there was an accident or the boilers exploded. The Sultanas tubular boilers, however, were harder to clean and could form pockets of sediment that could insulate a section of the tubes from the surrounding water and lead to overheating of the tubes. During the Civil War steamboats carried Iowa soldiers, weapons and food supplies to army posts. FS: Given the mistrust of any reporting from the press in some parts of our society today, how reliable would you say the reporting on these disasters was back in its day? An estimated 1,800 people died, but few today have heard of this disaster. The location of the explosion, from the top rear of the boilers and far away from the fireboxes, tends to indicate that Louden's claim of sabotage of an exploding coal torpedo in the firebox was pure bravado. In the 1820s, steamboats on the Mississippi carried lead from Julien Dubuque's lead mines near Dubuque. Passing boats and bystanders on both sides of the Mississippi helped pull survivors from the muddy water. Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Leyhe's father and uncle established the Eagle Packet Co., and Leyhe began working on the Mississippi River when he was 18. No one seemed to question the danger of a steamboat race until there was an accident or . "And the shrapnel, the steam and the boiling water killed hundreds.". Steamboats played a major role in the 19th-century development of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, allowing practical large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river. Lawmakers voted 85-12 Monday to approve legislation that would exempt . On April 27, 1865, the steamboat Sultana exploded and sank while traveling up the Mississippi River, killing an estimated 1,800 people. Find out more about what this space is all abouthere. [4]:2931, Leaving Vicksburg, Sultana traveled downriver to New Orleans, continuing to spread the news of Lincoln's assassination. The last northern survivor, Private Jordan Barr of the 15th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment, died on May 16, 1938, at age 93. William "Buck" Lehye, who sold the Golden Eagle one year before, and Mrs. Frank Lind, a lifelong fancier of steamboat travel. It went upward at a 45-degree angle, tearing through the crowded decks above and completely destroying the pilothouse, instantly killing Captain Mason. Who Was John Wilkes Booth Before He Became Lincoln's Assassin. Explosion of the Helen McGregor, At Memphis, Tennessee, February 24, 1830. Lake Geneva. Sometimes captains accidentally ran their boats up onto the sandbars. Regaining control, Smith wheeled toward the island and shoved the bow against the bank as the boat listed to port. Steamboating | Tennessee Encyclopedia By Lieutenant Commander Ralph P. Dillon, U. S. Naval Reserve. Fogelman's ancestors didn't have any boats to reach the trapped soldiers, so they improvised. Iowa is the only state with four border rivers, the Mississippi, Missouri, Des Moines, and Big Sioux. From 1817 to 1871, about 5,600 people died on Mississippi River wrecks of all sorts, including burst boilers, collisions and fires. An engraving of the Sultana explosion, published in Harpers Weekly, May 20, 1865. The flaming hull drifted onto a shoreline sandbar and grounded. The steamboat sank shortly after it struck submerged rocks at 2:20 a.m. All 91 passengers and crew members reached the island by gangplank, and were rescued later that day by a towboat. Publisher James T. Lloyd's 1856 book Lloyd's Steamboat Directory, and Disasters on the Western Waters, is illustrated by 32 woodcuts of explosions, fires, and foundering ships, chronicling a. Mississippi River. 2. He was injured on Sultana and was honorably discharged in May 1865. [12] In 1880, the War Department placed the number of survivors at 931, but the most recent research places the number at 961. Sometimes these snags stuck out of the water. He ordered the engines reversed, but the drifting boat smacked into submerged rocks near Grand Tower Island, opening a gash on its port (left) side. The steamboat had left the St. Louis levee two days before a seven-day round trip to and from Nashville, Tenn. (Edward J. Burkhardt/Post-Dispatch), The crippled Golden Eagle settled and listing in the Mississippi River at Grand Tower Island after sunrise on May 18, 1947. However, Louden's claim is controversial, and most scholars support the official explanation. Badger State (1844) steam paddle. Via History.com The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. History of steamboats on the Mississippi: Lloyd's Directory of Disasters. Given as the "John Lithoberry Shipyard" on Ohio Historical Marker 1831 (1999) on the Ohio River at Sawyer Point. Aurora (1902) steam screw. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007. The most recent investigation into the cause of the disaster by Pat Jennings, principal engineer of Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, which came into existence in 1866 because of the Sultana explosion, determined that three main factors led to the disaster: 1) The type of metal used in the construction of the boilers Charcoal Hammered No. As the steamboat made her way north following the twists and turns of the river, she listed severely from side to side. "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. The city of Marion is the closest city to the wreck site and is also the home to a number of descendants of people who aided in the rescue of the Sultana victims. Now, 129 years later, kayakers like Edinger are getting an up-close look at the vessel. We turn the clock back to April of 1993 and present excerpts of the original reviews from Joe Pollack. This led to many accidents and groundings. Because of a trick of fate, the story of the Sultana is virtually unknown. The few steamboats still gliding along the rivers today are usually carrying tourists on short trips. Explosion of the Oronoko, April 21, 1838, near Princeton, Mississippi. Steamboat Princess Disaster - 64 Parishes Golden Eagle's pilot house was salvaged. On his trips up and down the river, Odis often took his wife, Rosa, along. Steamboats ultimately carried more men and freight in the Civil War than the faster and more expensive railroads. What effect did steamboats and travel on the river have on the development of Iowa? "They had survived war," O'Neal says. Uninjured crewmen and passengers dragged the injured up onto the sandbar. Or does it let would-be historians off the hook from paying their own dues for embarking on the composition of a piece of nonfiction? Perhaps inspired by their northern comrades, a southern group of survivors, men from Tennessee and Kentucky, began meeting in 1889 around Knoxville, Tennessee. A sister boat to the famous Natchez, the Princess had undergone a thorough retrofitting the previous summer and was said to be one of the fastest and most luxurious craft on the Mississippi River. It was not until the U.S. government began to crack down and either enact, or enforce, the laws, that safety became an overriding factor in steamboat travel. But the story of the Sultana is about more than lost lives. The massive steam explosion came from the top rear of the boilers. In 2012 and 2015, the river was low sufficient to additionally expose the USS Inaugural. (You can unsubscribe anytime), Courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection, Steamboat Princess. ", Discovery Gives New Ending To A Death At The Civil War's Close. Low Mississippi River ranges expose sunken WWII ship - Dailynationtoday "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 name stuck. The official inquiry found that the boilers exploded because of the combined effects of careening, low water levels, and the faulty repair made a few days earlier.[16]. It was her 82nd birthday. Surviving the Worst: The Wreck of the Sultana at the End of the - MS The report blamed quartermaster Capt. (Post-Dispatch), The Golden Eagle heads downstream at St. Louis on May 14, 1940. When the boat tipped the other way, water rushing back into the empty boiler would hit the hot spots and flash instantly to steam, creating a sudden surge in pressure. Terrific Explosion of the Steamboat Ben Franklin, at Mobile, Alabama, March 13, 1836. Explosion and Burning of the Steamboat Teche on the Mississippi River, May 5, 1825., Explosion of the Helen McGregor, At Memphis, Tennessee, February 24, 1830., Terrific Explosion of the Steamboat Ben Franklin, at Mobile, Alabama, March 13, 1836.. A Look Back The day the Golden Eagle steamboat sank in 1947 At the same time, dozens of people began to float past the Memphis waterfront, calling for help until they were noticed by the crews of docked steamboats and U.S. warships, who immediately set about rescuing the survivors. [citation needed], By the mid-1920s, only a handful of survivors could attend the reunions. Barrels of flour were emptied on the ground, and the terribly burned victims were rolled in it and placed in the shade. When it got to Grand Tower Ill. catastrophe struck. He has conducted interviews with some 75 high-profile people, including historians, government officials, combat veterans, journalists, explorers, and Hollywood stars. Many of the paroled prisoners had been weakened by their incarceration and associated illnesses but had managed to gain some strength while waiting at the parole camp to be officially released. Robert Fultons steamboat is arguably the single most important invention that spawned settlement and economic expansion in nineteenth-century Louisiana. It was reported that the steamer was insured for $8,000. For two years, she ran a regular route between St. Louis and New Orleans and was frequently commissioned to carry troops during the American Civil War. "It's pretty exciting. Evidence like that may have led the government to downplay the Sultana tragedy, Potter says. The collision startled Marga Sachse, a passenger from St. Louis, who said she "felt a jar, and the ship lurched.". On May 19, 1947, the Golden Eagle left St. Louis on the Mississippi River and headed for Nashville. 2, a stern-wheel steamboat. The Worst Marine Disaster in U. S. History. 2023 Even amid the horrendous chaos, rescue efforts began immediately. Although the mechanic wanted to cut out and replace a ruptured seam, Mason knew such a job would take a few days and cost him his precious load of prisoners. Under reduced pressure, the steamboat limped into Vicksburg to get the boiler repaired and to pick up her promised load of prisoners. The jagged limbs could rip open the bottom of a steamboat. Since the US government was paying steamboat captains a dividend to carry the prisoners back north, Captain Hatch and the captain of the Sultana worked out a deal whereby Hatch would guarantee a large load of ex-prisoners for the Sultana in exchange for a kickback of the government funds from Captain Mason. The fires still going against the empty boiler created hot spots. The Corp of Engineers in a report issued July 3, 1934 listed 36 types of steamboat wrecks on the Missouri River alone. Potter, Jerry. Now, through the use of the internet, people can search hundred, perhaps thousands, of newspapers, from the United States as well as from around the world. The current was calmer and the channel was deeper. GES: Sultana (No. Persac, Marie Adrien (Artist). [9] In February 1867, the Bureau of Military Justice placed the death toll at 1,100. A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in southwestern Wisconsin on Thursday, injuring four employees and sending two containers into the Mississippi River. The Sultana sank in the Mississippi River near Marion, and over the years, the wreck was eventually covered with silt. Hunter, Louis C. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History. The main channel now flows about 2 miles (3km) east of its 1865 position. What the reader needs to know is that Captain Hatch, who had been corrupt throughout the war, would not have been there if not for some influential friends and relatives in the government, including President Abraham Lincoln. The ship, which archaeologists. [4]:7985, While the Sultana burned, and the men on the steamboat were either already dead or fighting for their lives, the southbound steamer Bostona (No. Everyone escaped to the muddy, isolated safety of Grand Tower Island. Paul recorded 41 steamboat arrivals in 1844, and 95 in 1849. On April 27, 1865, a steamboat named the Sultana exploded and sank while transporting Union soldiers up the Mississippi. At around 2:00AM on April 27, 1865, when Sultana was about seven miles (11km) north of Memphis, its patched boiler suddenly and violently exploded, killing 400-500 men instantly. 3) The design of the boilers. A Brief History of Steamboat Racing in the U.S. | History| Smithsonian In the end, no one was ever held accountable for what remains the deadliest maritime disaster in United States history. Today, Potter describes the scene from a park along the banks of the Mississippi, just north of Memphis. James Cass Mason, King's German Legion "Blues in the Water" tells a stylized version of the, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 19:15. A USS Abeona Andy Gibson (steamboat) USS Antelope (1861) USS Arizona (1858) B USC&GS Baton Rouge (1875) USS Black Hawk (1848) C USS Cincinnati (1861) City-class ironclad CSS Colonel Lovell Its sister craft included the Spread Eagle and the Bald Eagle. An epilogue to Tennessee steamboating came in the 1970s with the return of the pleasure sternwheeler to the Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers. The May 9, 1989 the Des Moines Register newspaper listed 40 known sunken steamboats from the southwest corner of Iowa north just over 100 miles to Sioux City. Being so closely packed within the 48-inch (120cm) diameter boilers tended to cause the muddy sediment to form hot pockets and were extremely difficult to clean. The Wreck of the Sultana. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Cardinals send prized prospect Jordan Walker to Class AAA in curious series of moves, Rudderless ship of chaos: St. Louis judge advances Kim Gardner contempt case, What Oliver Marmols gamble in ninth vs. LA reveals about managing to spark Cardinals, How sending Jordan Walker to Class AAA is a bet clarity can correct muddled outfield: Cardinals Extra, Messenger: Kim Gardner drives the judicial bus over her employees and into the ditch, A closer on ice. [21], Two years earlier, in May 1886, came a claim that 2nd Lt. James Worthington Barrett, an ex-prisoner and passenger on the steamboat, had caused the explosion. So on the 150th anniversary of the sinking, the city of Marion, Ark., is trying to make sure the Sultana will be remembered. It was a standard fare, no matter who you were. Featured in the museum are a few relics from Sultana such as shaker plates from the boat's furnace, furnace bricks, a few pieces of wood, and some small metal pieces.
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