2), built in 1860 but coming downriver on her maiden voyage after being refurbished,[6] arrived at about 2:30 AM, a half hour after the explosion, and rescued scores of survivors. 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. When railroads started carrying freight across the country, the days of the steamboats were over. That meant another expensive trip and more time. In 1859, the Blackhawk made 29 round trips between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo on the Cedar River. The jagged limbs could rip open the bottom of a steamboat. 2. You've read 1 out of 5 free articles of Naval History this month. It was late April 1865 and more than 2,000 tired, sick, and injured men, wearing dirty and tattered clothes, filed down the bluff from Vicksburg to a steamboat waiting at the docks on the Mississippi River. But perhaps the best explanation is that after years of bloody conflict, the nation was simply tired of hearing about war and death. In the end, no one was ever held accountable for what remains the deadliest maritime disaster in United States history. There is no apparent motive for him to have blown up the boat, especially while on board. 19th-century American steamboat that sank on the Mississippi River in 1865. hide caption. BNSF train derails in Wisconsin near De Soto along Mississippi River 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. Crew members roused passengers and swung a gangplank onto land. Evidence like that may have led the government to downplay the Sultana tragedy, Potter says. In the thirty years prior to the Civil War, several thousand lives were lost in steamboat calamities. The Sultana made it only a few miles north of Memphis. BNSF said in a statement that two of . 5) was built in February 1863, but she was used extensively throughout the last two years of the Civil War to carry Union troops and supplies on the Cumberland and the Mississippi Rivers to aid in the collapse of the Confederacy. Salecker, historical consultant for the Sultana Disaster Museum in Marion, Arkansas, recently participated in an author q&a with former Naval History editor-in-chief Fred Schultz to discuss the book: FS: After having read your exhaustive story of the various iterations of the steamboat Sultana, I couldnt help but compare her fate to the loss of the Titanic, which, as Im sure you know, has received much more attention from historians. 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? Sometimes terrible accidents happened on the Mississippi too. I then decided that since it had been 25 years since the publication of my first book, I needed to put out a new book on the Sultana. The massive steam explosion came from the top rear of the boilers. 1, which tends to become brittle with prolonged heating and cooling. Mississippi River. Non-subscribers can read five free Naval History articles per month. 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,. Contains photos of War Eagle and steamer Reindeer. 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. Library of Congress 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. The flaming hull drifted onto a shoreline sandbar and grounded. The crew threw more wood on the fire. Low Missouri river levels expose 130-year-old shipwreck - kfyrtv.com Explosion and Burning of the Steamboat Teche on the Mississippi River, May 5, 1825. Hersey and many others died instantly in a blast of scalding steam. Students tour the pilot house of the Golden Eagle on display at the U.S. Army Engineers base at the foot of Arsenal Street on Jan. 4, 1948. Almost all were Union soldiers who had survived the . Bates, both eight-footers, arrive a, On April 18, 1949, at Verhagen Hall at St. Louis University a priest just back from a year of study at Harvard completed an exorcism after hea. The Vault isSlates history blog. April 27, 2023. Her four boilers were interconnected and mounted side-by-side so that if the boat tipped sideways, water would tend to run out of the highest boiler. FERRYVILLE - A train derailed along the Mississippi River Thursday afternoon in southwest Wisconsin, leaving several cars overturned and jumbled along the bluff and two cars floating . FS: Your handling of how the owners and crews of these vessels seemed to have not factored in the reality that dirty river water was not suitable for being used to create steam, and thus propulsion. "I understand that the Fogelmans were able to put together some logs to make a raft and go out and take people off the boat as it drifted back this way," Fogelman says. Shipwrecks - Inland Waterways - WI Shipwrecks Early western river navigation was always dangerous, but it was a necessity in order to ship supplies to U.S. Army frontier posts and civilian settlements. 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. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007. Sultana was a commercial side-wheel steamboat which exploded and sank on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, killing 1,169 people in what remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history. GES: I began to dispel the myths and untruths surrounding the Sultana shortly after the Naval Institute Press published my first book in 1996. Newspaper accounts suggest John Fogelman and his sons spotted the burning Sultana as the remains of the paddle-wheeler drifted downriver. Mississippi River at Lansing at crest Friday evening The West Memphis Boatwrecks Project - Arkansas Archeological Survey A Brief History of Steamboat Racing in the U.S. | History| Smithsonian Most river travel was between the years of 1846 and 1866. [4]:12 On the morning of April 15, she was tied up at Cairo, Illinois, when word reached the city that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln had been shot in Washington, D.C. The Sultana was a 260-foot-long wooden steamboat, built in Cincinnati in 1863, which regularly transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans on the Mississippi River.. On April 23, 1865, the vessel docked in Vicksburg to address . (Post-Dispatch), Capt. [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. 0:12. Steamboat - Wikipedia Eventually, the group settled on meeting in the Toledo, Ohio area. 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 . Captain Mason of Sultana, who was ultimately responsible for dangerously overloading his vessel and ordering the faulty repairs to her leaky boiler, had died in the disaster. The vessel measured 260 feet (79m) long, with a 42 feet (13m) width at the beam, displaced 1,719 short tons (1,559t), and had a 7-foot (2.1m) draft. They wanted the railroad companies to pay for damages to the Effie Afton and its cargo. Although one of the Sultanas boilers was being repaired when the ex-prisoners were being crowded aboard the boat, none of the Union officers seemed to mind. As the steamboat made her way north following the twists and turns of the river, she listed severely from side to side. Wolf River. Down Yonder On The Yazoo - The Waterways Journal 2) The use of the sediment-laden Mississippi River water to feed the boilers. Train derails near Wisconsin-Iowa border; 2 cars float down Mississippi He died in 1871, having escaped justice because of his numerous highly placed patronsincluding two presidents. Lloyd, James T. Lloyds Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters. Why should potential readers care? Lena Kent, a . 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? GRAND TOWER, ILL. It was the first trip of the season for the Golden Eagle, an antique steamboat with twin stacks, gingerbread woodwork and a splashing sternwheel. A female fan exclaimed what a lovely shade of Cardinal in reference to the trim on the new uniforms. The coal-burning steamboat was on a trip to Nasvhille, Tenn., via the Ohio and Cumberland rivers, when it sank at Grand Tower Island 80 miles below St. Louis on May 18, 1947. Shewas a sidewheel Mississippi steamboat carrying nearly 2,000 releasedUnion prisoners-of-war back north at the end of the Civil War. "In order to save time, they would set the people off in treetops, and go back to the boat to take more off.". More passengers boarded at Baton Rouge including a number of politicians fresh from the state legislative session that had just ended early for the holiday. Cost $8 for poster plus $3.50 postage (U.S.). A tall mirror glistened behind the walnut bar. Effie Afton Hits the Bridge. . Subscribe now and never hit a limit. However, the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army overturned the guilty verdict because Speed had been at the parole camp all day and had not personally placed a single soldier on board Sultana. [citation needed], By the mid-1920s, only a handful of survivors could attend the reunions. [23], An episode of the PBS series History Detectives that aired on July 2, 2014, reviewed the known evidence, thoroughly disputed a theory of sabotage, and then focused on the question of why Sultana was allowed to be crowded to several times its normal capacity before departure. Whole groups went down together. [7] Many died of drowning or hypothermia. The Golden Eagle's new St. Louis-based owners left it to the river's mercy. The ability to navigate these rivers was of great importance in the settlement of Iowa before railroads. The Sultana was on its way from Vicksburg, Miss., to St. Louis when the explosion occurred, says Jerry Potter, a Memphis lawyer and author of The Sultana Tragedy. Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. Slaves from the nearby Cottage plantation were ordered to bring sheets and blankets. Designed to carry both freight and passengers, packet boats ranging from palatial Mississippi River sidewheelers to the smaller steamers common on rivers like the Cumberland or the Tennessee played a central role in the development of the inland rivers economy. The museum also features many artifacts from the Sultana Survivor's Association, as well as a fourteen-foot model replica of the boat. What is the connection? One wall is decorated with the names of every soldier, crewmember, and passenger on the boat on April 27, 1865. After a few Union gunboats filled up their bunkers but refused to pay, the farmer supposedly hollowed out a log, filled it with gunpowder, and then left the lethal log on his woodpile. Sultana (steamboat) - Wikipedia William "Buck" Leyhe, who had sold Eagle Packet Co. the year before, waits for rescue on Grand Tower Island after the Golden Eagle sank. So on the 150th anniversary of the sinking, the city of Marion, Ark., is trying to make sure the Sultana will be remembered. On the three-hundred-mile upriver leg, it made stops at Donaldsonville, Plaquemine, Baton Rouge, Port Hudson, Bayou Sara, Red River Landing, Fort Adams, Natchez, Waterproof, Rodney, St. Joseph, Grand Gulf, and Warrenton, before arriving at Vicksburg. An estimated four hundred people were on board the Princess when it pulled out into the current of the river after 9 a.m. Because the boat was late, high boiler pressure had been maintained during the stop, and second engineer Peter Hersey was reported to have declared that he would make it to New Orleans on time if he had to blow her up. As a portent of the looming catastrophe, the Mississippi River was veiled in a dense fog. [citation needed]. The lure of huge profits led steamboats to travel in unsafe river conditions and at unsafe speeds. Built in New Albany, Indiana, in 1832, the steamboat Heroine plied the Ohio and Mississippi from its launch in that year until in 1838 a navigation disaster left it beneath the waters of the Red River. An estimated 1,800 people died in the explosion and ensuing fire more than died in the sinking of the Titanic. Lawmakers voted 85-12 Monday to approve legislation that would exempt . Low Mississippi River ranges expose sunken WWII ship - Dailynationtoday The last northern survivor, Private Jordan Barr of the 15th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment, died on May 16, 1938, at age 93. [4]:2931, Leaving Vicksburg, Sultana traveled downriver to New Orleans, continuing to spread the news of Lincoln's assassination. During the Civil War steamboats carried Iowa soldiers, weapons and food supplies to army posts. The First Bridge Over the Mississippi and the Effie Afton As the crew made sure the cargo was packed tightly, the captain blew the whistle. Historian Ann Fabian writes that Lloyd even peddle[d] his book to the travelers who might soon wind up on the lists of the dead, who bought it and read it to pass the time on their own steamboat voyages. He has conducted interviews with some 75 high-profile people, including historians, government officials, combat veterans, journalists, explorers, and Hollywood stars. Passing boats and bystanders on both sides of the Mississippi helped pull survivors from the muddy water. "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. [12] In 1880, the War Department placed the number of survivors at 931, but the most recent research places the number at 961. The city has created a museum and is hosting events intended to bring attention to the tragedy. It just hurts my heart. By the time the repairs would have been completed, the prisoners would have been sent home on other boats. 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. Charcoal Hammered No. Late in April of 1865, the Mississippi stood at flood stage. Pages in category "Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River" The following 50 pages are in this category, out of 50 total. Uninjured crewmen and passengers dragged the injured up onto the sandbar. During her time in port, and while the repairs were being made, Sultana took on the paroled prisoners. "All the boilers, four in number, burst simultaneously . Potter, the lawyer and author, grew up around Memphis, but didn't learn about the tragedy until the late 1970s, when he saw a painting of the ship in flames. Since most steamboats of the time were constructed of wood covered with paint and varnish, fires were a significant concern. 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. Lavish meals were served four times a day in a great central hall, and surviving menus list such gourmet delicacies as broiled pompano and stuffed crabs. 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. The first steamboat on the Mississippi River along Iowas border was the 109-ton Virginia, on its way to Fort Snelling (now Saint Paul, Minnesota) in May 1823. Capt. Sultana had tubular boilers filled with 24 horizontal five-inch flues. In later years the steamboats pushed huge rafts of logs from the forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota to sawmills farther down the river. By 1857, St. Paul had become a bustling port, with over 1,000 steamboat arrivals each year by some 62 to 99 boats. The train . The 12 Best Mississippi River Cruises for 2023-2024 - US News & World [4]:146147,168176, Passengers who survived the initial explosion had to risk their lives in the icy spring runoff of the Mississippi or burn with the boat. "It won't move!" [18] Louden, a former Confederate agent and saboteur who operated in and around St. Louis, had been responsible for the burning of the steamboat Ruth. [4]:164 Other vessels joined the rescue, including the steamers Silver Spray, Jenny Lind, and Pocahontas, the navy ironclad USS Essex and the sidewheel gunboat USSTyler. Among those killed were Louisiana state representatives H. J. Huard and Charles Bannister. But some of the most poignant stories involve Confederate soldiers rescuing their Union counterparts. ", Jerry Potter, lawyer and author of The Sultana Tragedy. Fred Schultz has been in the publishing business since 1980 and was editor-in-chief ofNaval History from 1993-2005. Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from 64 Parishes. Bridges, shipwrecks, islands, and secret spots on the Mississippi River [4]:62, Sultana spent two days traveling upriver, fighting against one of the worst spring floods in the river's history. Although they knew that the water above Cairo was cleaner, the only problem they thought they faced by the dirtier lower Mississippi water was that they had to clean their boilers more often. The last Iowa steamboat to carry goods was the coal fired sternwheeler the Loan Star in 1967. The current was calmer and the channel was deeper. 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 current on the Missouri was fast, and the channelthe deepest part of the rivershifted from place to place. This led to many accidents and groundings. By Lieutenant Commander Ralph P. Dillon, U. S. Naval Reserve. Although designed with a capacity of only 376 passengers, she was carrying 2,130 when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and caused it to sink near Memphis, Tennessee. It was reported that the steamer was insured for $8,000. 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. The owners of the Effie Afton decided to take the railroad companies that had built the bridge to court. The vessel was heading from St . Men in skiffs from both riverbanks rescued people clinging to debris. Frank Barton is the descendant of one of those Confederate soldiers, a man named Franklin Hardin Barton. Train derails in Wisconsin, plunging 2 containers into the Mississippi Author Q&ADestruction of the Steamboat Sultana As shown in my book, when steam navigation of American waterways first began, there were very little, if any, laws for safety. A Hancock County native died Sunday evening from injuries she sustained in a boat crash on the Jourdan River, Coroner Jeff Hair confirmed to the Sun Herald. Dropping water levels could cause hot spots leading to metal fatigue, significantly increasing the risk of an explosion. The boat and its entire cargo was a total loss. Hunter, Louis C. Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History. Some survivors were plucked from the tops of semi-submerged trees along the Arkansas shore. [4]:72 Sultana subsequently arrived at Memphis, Tennessee, around 7:00 PM, and the crew began unloading 120 tons (109 tonnes) of sugar from the hold. It was a standard fare, no matter who you were. The sediment tended to settle on the bottom of the boilers or clog between the flues and leave hotspots. The boilers exploded off Cairo, killing at least 1443 men, a loss of life never exceeded on the rivers, and rarely at sea. (Post-Dispatch), Ruth Ferris, assistant curator at the Missouri Historical Society (now the History Museum), displays the steering wheel in the Golden Eagle pilot house as it went on display in the museum on May 2, 1962. Last chance! William H. "Buck" Leyhe of St. Louis at the wheel of the Golden Eagle steamboat in April 1939. And it was very cold. Instead, Mason and his chief engineer, Nathan Wintringer, convinced the mechanic to make temporary repairs, hammering back the bulged boiler plate and riveting a patch of lesser thickness over the seam. In 2012 and 2015, the river was low sufficient to additionally expose the USS Inaugural. No one was ever held accountable for the tragedy. Cape Girardeau:Later renamed the River Queen, the vessel sank in 1968. Senate advances rules exemption for Delta Queen When the Princess pulled up to the wharf in Baton Rouge early on the morning of February 27, 1859, it was already late. Jan. 3, 1844 Steamboat wreck kills as many as 70 on the Mississippi
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