Carrying over 2200 passengers and crew, and with an improperly repaired boiler, the Sultana left Vicksburg heading north up the Mississippi River. In the early morning hours of April 27th, 1865, three out of the four boilers suddenly exploded. Despite rescue efforts, about 1200 people lost their lives. Jerry Potter, author of The Sultana Tragedy:…
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Episode 1: The S.S. Sultana Part 1
In April of 1865, the Civil War was coming to an end. Robert E. Lee surrendered, and soon other Confederate generals would surrender as well. Thousands of Union soldiers remained in Confederate prison camps, and the Confederare government agreed to release them. Many of these men were sent to Camp Fisk, a few miles from Vicksburg, Mississippi. Here, they would wait until steamboats could arrive to transport them back north to their homes. Jerry Potter, author of The Sultana Tragedy: America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster joins me.