Title: Disaster on the Mississippi : the Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 /
Authors: Salecker, Gene Eric, 1957-
Publisher: Naval Institute Press,
Year: 1996
Subjects: Sultana (Steamboat); Steamboat disasters Mississippi River History; United States History Prisoners and prisons.
Abstract: "...On 27 April 1865, seven miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi, the boilers of the sidewheel steamboat Sultana suddenly exploded. Legally registered to carry 376 people, the boat was packed with 2,100 recently released Union prisoners of war. More than 1,700 people died, making it the worst marine disaster in U.S. history"-- Front flap, book jacket.
Contents: The Sultana -- Delivered form bondage -- Messenger of death -- Greed and deception -- The loading -- The overcrowding -- Homeward bound -- Prelude to destiny -- The explosion -- Panic on the bow -- Devastation on the stern -- Death on the hurricane deck -- The horror of fire -- The cold Mississippi -- Help from Memphis -- The Sultana's last minutes -- The final rescues -- The living and the dead -- The investigations -- Too soon forgotten.