On April 27, 1865,
America experienced its greatest maritime disaster. More people died
in the boiler explosion of the Cincinnati-built steamer “Sultana”
than were killed in the sinking of the “Titanic” in 1912.
Most of those who died
were paroled Union soldiers who had been imprisoned for months and
sometimes years at Andersonville and Cahaba. At war's end these
weak, sick, emaciated prisoners – most from Ohio, Michigan,
Tennessee, Indiana and Kentucky, were bound for Cairo, Illinois, and
then home to their families. At Vicksburg, they were herded onto the
“Sultana,” a vessel built to carry 376 passengers. But Captain J.
Cass Mason encouraged the Army to cram on as many soldiers as
possible as he stood to gain as much as $10,000 from the government.
With the more than 2300 soldiers were some 100 civilian passengers, a
crew of 85, and 100 head of cattle!
"Sultana" before Departure from VicksburgCourtesy of Library of Congress
Shortly before departure,
the “Sultana's” leaking boilers were quickly repaired. It wasn't
until midnight that the massively overloaded ship headed out into the
swollen waters of the Mississippi. She fought strong currents all
the way to Memphis. About 2 a. m., in the dark of night and a few
miles north of Memphis, the boilers exploded. The force hurled many
of the sleeping passengers into the cold water. Most were scalded and
suffering from burns caused by flames and showering hot coals.
Screams echoed into the night air. Many, weakened and desperately
injured, quickly slid below the surface. Others could not or did not
have the strength to swim. Some clung to trees along the shoreline
and the lucky ones floated on the “Sultana's” debris.
Rescue operations
continued through the night and all the following day. Because of the
Army's poor records at Vicksburg, it is estimated that only seven to
eight hundred survived. As many as 300 of those died later from burns
and exposure. Only 18 of the crew and passengers survived. As the
weeks and months passed, bodies were still found in the Mississippi
- some well beyond Vicksburg.
Ironically, most of the
families who were anxiously awaiting their loved ones' return, did
not learn of their fate until several weeks later. The disaster was
overshadowed the events surrounding the end of the war and President
Lincoln's assassination. Most of America's prominent newspapers,
located in the East, gave scant coverage to the disaster.
Abraham Hoofnagle killed aboard the Sultana
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums
While this list may not be
complete, the following soldiers who either lived in Sandusky County, Ohio or enlisted from the county were aboard the “Sultana.” The
asterisk indicates those who were believed killed in the explosion:
Morris Aubrey*, Jacob Brandt*, Ira Crane*, William Duke, Samuel
Hague*, William H. Kirk*, Byron E.* and William McIntyre,* Michael
Statler*, Alexander Shoemaker, Emanuel Shoe*, Thomas Flinn*, Austin
Fisher, Charles Tearne and William Trimmer – all of the 72nd
Ohio; Abraham Hoofnagle*(pictured above) , John Donmire*, Adam Dilling*, and John
Fleagle* 100th Ohio; Adam Dilling* 101st Ohio;
and John Hudson*65th Ohio.
While the Army and the
nation wanted to put death and the war behind them, survivors never
forgot. A strong bond developed among them. They gathered together
experiences and created lists of the lost. The first reunion was held
in Fostoria, Ohio, on the 20th anniversary of the
destruction. From that date forward the Sultana Association held reunions
nearly every April at Fremont, Upper Sandusky, Toledo, Sandusky and in Coldwater and Hillsdale, Michigan. Veterans from
Kentucky and Tennessee held reunions in the South as well. Their
efforts for government pensions, medical care, and a memorial proved
futile.
To learn more about the "Sultana" tragedy, please read
Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors by Rev. Chester D. Berry, 1892
The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster by Jerry O. Potter, 1992
Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 by Gene Eric Salecker, 1996
A version of the article appeared in Lifestyles 2000.