Episode 16: Sultana Disaster
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Episode 16: Sultana Disaster
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About this listen
CC and Kitty explore the Sultana disaster, the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history. In April 1865, an overloaded Mississippi River steamboat carrying paroled Union soldiers exploded north of Memphis after a rushed boiler repair and an impossible passenger load.
This episode follows the Sultana from Vicksburg to the explosion, the rescue effort, and the long trail of disputed casualty counts, weak accountability, and near-forgotten memory.
SOURCES:
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/sultana-disaster
https://www.thesultanaassociation.com/the-disaster
https://www.sultanadisastermuseum.com/hannah-and-seth-hardin
https://www.sultanadisastermuseum.com/new-artifacts
Alligator information: https://emergingcivilwar.com/2025/04/27/tragic-end-of-sultanas-mascot-alligator/