Monday, September 15, 2014

A New Look at the Sultana Disaster-- Part 1: Worse Loss of Life Than the Titanic

From the PBS History Detectives Show.

There is a Sultana Descendants  Association was founded in 1987 to ensure the tragedy is not forgotten.  Most Americans know nothing about the ship which blew up and sank April 27, 1865, causing the deaths of an estimated 1,800 or more just-released Union prisoners, many from Andersonville and the majority heading home to Ohio.  The loss of life was worse than that of the Titanic.  But yet, few know about it.

What caused the explosion?  No one knows for sure.  Possibly a boiler explosion or even torpedo sabotage.

One thing known for sure, it was seriously overcrowded.  It was rated for 376 and carrying 2400 when it went down.

Then, there was this man named Reuben Hatch who was quite involved and had quite a story.

--Old B-Runner

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