The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster Tapa dura - 1992

On the night of April 27, 1865, a wooden-hulled steamer overloaded with war-weary Union soldiers exploded and sank on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. More than 1,800 soldiers, veterans of some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba prison camps, died en route to their homes and families in the North.

The magnitude of the catastrophe was overshadowed by the turbulent events that shook our nation and filled the newspaper headlines in April of 1865-namely the end of the Civil War, the assassination of President Lincoln, and the capture of John Wilkes Booth. As a result, the explosion of the Sultana has been all but passed over in the pages of history.

In this first ever comprehensive study of the disaster, author Jerry O. Potter brings to light the cause of the explosion, and the investigation and cover-up which followed. Emphasizing the needlessness of the tragedy, Potter reveals the greed, indifference, criminal misconduct, and gross stupidity which led to the loading at Vicksburg of 2,300 men onto a boat designed for 376.

This authoritative work contains abundant photographs and illustrations, as well as the most complete list of the ship's passengers available.

Potter, a Memphis lawyer, first became interested in the Sultana over a decade ago when he saw a painting of the burning ship. Determined that the Sultana should not be forgotten, Potter researched newspaper accounts, the three existing books on the subject, and previously unused original military and government documents.

Through these sources, he has created the truly definitive study of this great tragedy which even today stands as the worst maritime disaster in American history.