The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-25
LOSS OF THE SULTANA
IN ONLY FOUR BATTLES WAS THERE
GREATER Loss OF LIFE.
Narrative of Mr.. Howard Henderson,
Who Has the Only List of Men Who
We're on Board the steamer.

crate exchange commissioner, has written
for the Independent an account of the
wreck of the Sultana. which, from one
point of view, is singularly timely. He
says:
In 1875, while confederate commissioner
for the exchange of prisoners of war for
the Department of Alabama, Mississippi
and East Tennessee, l exchanged the men
lost the Sultana. This catastrophe is
the greatest in the history of steamboating.
They were shipped at Vicksburg, where
General Dana commanded the department
and Gen. Morgan =. Smith the district.
Through Col. A. c. Fisk of General Smiths
staff, now of Denver, parole camp had
been established, neutral ground at -Four
mile bridge, east of Vicksburg. From this
camp the men had been exchanged for a
week or more before they were transported.
Several boats had passed upon which they
might have been shipped, and this made a
suspicious circumstance suggesting bribery,
whispered on the day of shipment. but bold
~ charged after the disaster. Having in
my possession a copy of the official record
of the court-1nartial which sat on the case,
and a complete roll of the men on board
the steamer, propose to give an authentic
account of the greatest steamboat disas-
ter of time, which has never been done.
No one could do it without the record of
the trial of Capt. Frederick Speed, the
only copy of which is in my possession.
by rail from Camp Fisk and placed upon
the Sultana. The exact number of prison
sides these 81 soldiers mot prisoners), pas
sengers and crew. She crowded to her
utmost capacity. for besides the human
freight there were thirty or forty mules.
Rations were issued for over 1900 soldiers.
The men covered the hurricane deck and
the texas and it was feared their weight
would crush the roof of the cabin. The
guards of the cabin were filled, and the
boiler deck was so covered that the men sat
thick the gunwales, their legs swinging
over the sides of the steamer, which sunk
SO low that when the vessel careened, while
running. their feet touched the water. They
were anxious to get away that they
feared to complain. lest they, should be
left behiRd: they even claimed to be en-
tirely comfortable, but their wretched posi-
ton excited universal comment and pro-
voked earnest protests. The Lady Gay and
Pauline Carol lay at the leyee while the
begging for a share of the prisoners. This
added another circumstance suggestive of
the men were shipped in the face of off,
cial remonstrance from Acting Quartermas-
ter W. F. Kerns.
SCENE OF THE WRECK.
The steamer reached Memphis in safety.
and having coaled, left there Seven miles
above she exploded her boilers and burned.
Hundreds were hurled many feet in the
air, falling into the water with broken.
bruised or scalded bodies. to meet certain
and swift death by drowning. The num-
Der that lost their lives is, approximately,
LILO of the prisoners and 200 of the crew
and passengers, including Captain Mason,
the commander of the boat. The number
has been repeatedly placed at from 800 to
2,00o, but it approximates the exact truth
to state that about 300 persons persisted,
or about 60 per cent. of all on board. do
not propose to describe the scenes Of suffer-
frfer yifroo cod T11n cyArif hot ut
its flood, and the swamps on the Arkansas
side were overflowed fer many miles in
land; Many escaped to to- submerged snbI
ished from cold and fright.
1t claimed that the casualty was
caused by overlooking, causing the YES
sci to set so low as to strain the en-
gine's power beyond it's capacity to drive
had to stem. Experts testified that, though
she was overloaded and that the catastro-
phe could not be charged to the burden
freight that sunk her Water-iine as low W
1t was charged that the rebel emissar-
torpedoes in the coal; and 1 have seen
what purported to be a history gravely
assert this as fact No confederates went
aboard her. l saw her from the levee
and strongly protested against the crowd
ing of men in that inhuman way-a fact to
shown on the trial that while at Vicksburg
boiler had been bunglingly patched with
thin iron and that this and a high steam
before leaving St. Louis, on her down trip,
the steamer had been satisfactorily tested
and pronounced stanch by the marine Off
Gals. 1t was proven that the vessel was
not particularly endangered by the num-
Der she carried. l have before me state
ment, made by the chief engineer. whose
license had been revoked on grounds of
carelessness. written Oct rs, 1865, and pub
lished in the st. Louis Democrat before
any official investigation of the disaster,
claiming that the supervising inspector had
admitted to him that he had been wrong
n hIf raj c1t ri
for. having adhered to his hasty. action.
Before the court-martial at Vicksburg ne
repaired and safe; but the final deliverance
on the matter charges him with .crimin-
ality. in risking the lives of SO many men.
knowing. as he did, the condition of the
boat, and his offense without palliation."
CAUSE OF THE DISASTER.
The inspector referred to testified that
the boat could carry all that could stand
on her and give the engineer room to move
around his machinery, and was allowed to
carry, legally, one passenger to every six
teen inches Of surface; that larger num-
Der might imperil safety by walking around
and causing the boat to careen, uncovering
her fiues, and that, in recovering herself,
the dash of water on the red-hot surface
would generate an amount of steam that
would cause the boilers to burst.
But the pilot testified that the men. most
ly. were asleep. and the boat running even
on her keel at the time of the explosion.
The inspector attributed the explosion Ito
oyerpressure-the Immediate reason being
her having been repaired at Nickspurg with
one-quarter-inch iron" The boilers were
made of iron seventeen-forty-eighth of an
inch thick, and were allowed i4o pounds of
steam pressure to the inch. After the re-
pair with one-quarter-inch iron she would
have been allowed 143 one-hundredths.' The
weakness of the patch and the burning OF
her boilers through the engineers careless
ness he declared to be the cause of tbs
explosion; and that. with the number
aboard and ballast she would eareen
and thus endanger the vessel.
1 was a witness before the court-Inartia
| that tried Captain Speed. and heard nearls
| ali of the testimony. estified that i ha,
| recognized Capt. @. Williams the
| federal commissioner, hat on the day
| of the loading of the ma, / had come
| in with him, esteeuA him having
charge of the business, t.lough, during hi:
| absence, / had arranged all prelinnaries
| on the confederate side. with Capta:r
Speed. as temporarily representing Captain
/ Williams. The court convicted Captain
| Speed and sentenced him TO be dismissed
| from the service. Major-general Wood, de
| partment commander, approved the pro
| ceedings findings and sentence The record
| was reviewed by the Board of Military jus
| tice, and exculpated Captain Speed. Jude,
/ Advocate General Joseph Holt delivering
| the opinion. He pronounced the arrange
| ment with Captain Mason, of the Sutana
4 TO have been made by Captain Hatch. quar-
| teruasteT-in-chief of the department. tina