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Posted on 06/30/2004 12:01:52 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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At 2am on April 27th 1865, seven miles upstream from Memphis, the side-paddle steamer Sultana was slowly making way against a strong spring current when a large explosion occurred followed quickly by two more. A column of fire and steam shot up almost cutting the boat in two; within minutes the boat was a blazing wreck. This resulted in the deaths of at least 1,700 people, mostly paroled prisoners returning north as the war was ending. The sinking remains to this day the United States worst civilian boat disaster.  Picture of the Sultana disaster published in the Harper's Weekly So what had happened? The Sultana was a wide berth cargo/passenger steamer skippered by a maverick captain who had just had the distinction of making the fastest trip between New Orleans and St Louis. Captain J Cass Mason had arrived in Vicksburg a few weeks before on his way to New Orleans, he met with the Chief Q.M. of the Mississippi, Col. Ruben Heath who told him that the Federal Government were paying $5 per enlisted man and $10 per officer to any steamboat owner who would take them north. Col. Heath was a scoundrel who had been cheating the Government throughout the war and had only managed to avoid court martial through his family connections in Washington. Mason left New Orleans leaving Heath to arrange to get as many men as he could for him to pick up on the return trip. With bribes and deception Heath fooled the Officers in charge of the prisoner repatriation Capt. Frederick Speed and he in turn deceived Captains Williams and Kerns who were under pressure to empty the transit camps. As the Sultana arrived back he had at least 1,400 men ready to board with more on the trains due to arrive. The Sultana had been delayed slightly as it had developed a bulge and leak in one of its four boilers; advised by engineers to have two whole plates removed and replaced, Cass and his chief engineer made do with riveting a patch over the problem. Despite this, loading started on the morning of April 24th. The men being loaded did express doubts about overloading when they saw crew having to wedge large beams in to hold up the decks that were beginning to sag under the weight of so many and were puzzled about the numbers boarding Sultana when there were other craft available.  Overloaded Sultana at Helena, AR just prior to Disaster As the boat cast off from Vicksburg docks, she carried nearly 2,100 paroled prisoners who were policed by 22 men of the 58th Ohio Regiment. In addition to this there were 90 or so paying passengers and the boats crew of 88. In the cargo holds were two thousand hogsheads of sugar each weighing 1,200lbs but the strangest passenger must have been a large alligator in a sturdy crate. Mason had bought it in New Orleans as a mascot. All this on a boat that was registered to carry 376 people. The first signs of any trouble arose when the boat passed other vessels or sights of interest on the shore, being a flat bottomed boat the Sultana had become top heavy and as men went from one side to the other she listed badly. This meant that the water in her boilers flowed from one side to the other emptying one and flooding another, as the boat righted, steam pressure built up in the refilling boiler. The crew and men of the 58th Ohio tried to stop this movement it became even more serious when at Memphis the sugar was unloaded. The boat was now seriously top heavy.  J. Cass Mason, Captain of the Sultana A few men had slipped ashore and disappeared after helping to unload the sugar, so the actual count of people on board is impossible to state, overcrowding was still a problem as the Sultana slipped her moorings at around midnight. Seven miles upstream she hit the full flood current and listed badly, the repaired starboard boiler could no longer take the pressure and blew, the two boilers amidships followed suit in a tremendous roar. The blast tore out the centre of the vessel ripping apart the upper decks, the area immediately above the boiler room where sick and wounded soldiers had been placed was completely destroyed. Further damage to the surrounding area was caused as one of the huge smoke stacks crashed down. Below the boiler room the furnaces were badly damaged and fire broke out, soon to be uncontrollable as it was fanned by the breeze blowing down the river. The huge amount of escaping steam caused horrific injuries to men as it blasted aft, many could not have known what had hit them and many more were flung into the river by it.  The fire caused panic. At first the men in the bow area thought themselves safe as the fire spread aft, yet as the wreck turned in the current so the fire spread towards them, anything that would float was flung overboard and the lucky few that found ropes lowered themselves into the water, yet the months of bad diet and depredation in Confederate prisons meant that many drowned in the river. One quick thinking soldier however made his own life raft. Private William Lugenbeal bayoneted the alligator and used its crate to take him downstream. An hour after the blast the southbound steamer Boston II came upon the burning Sultana, everything that could be done to save men was tried and about 150 were pulled aboard. The captain of the Boston II realised that the current was taking men down stream, then sped to Memphis to raise the alarm. However the town was already aware of the event, a soldier, Private Wesley Lee, had been blown off the deck and had managed to swim and float all the way to Memphis where he was lucky to be spotted by night-watchmen on the levee. Now many small craft were in the river searching for survivors being washed down stream. Problems arose when soldiers on guard at the nearby Fort Pickering who had been told to be aware of guerrilla activity opened fire on the small dark craft traversing the river, nobody was injured however and once the position was made clear the fort's compliment helped in the rescue by taking survivors in.  With most of the superstructure burnt away the Sultana was boarded again by some 40 or so men who had lowered themselves to the water line, the wreck drifted into a flooded grove of trees and shortly after the men were taken off she sank. In all 786 people were rescued most of whom were injured in some way; some 200 of these would die in hospital. Capt. Mason was among the killed; the pilothouse was destroyed in the initial blast as was the officers' quarters. Many of the survivors were placed in another steamer and one can understand their reluctance to make the trip, it was reported that one man spent the entire journey sitting in the steamer's small dingy.  The Doomed Dregs of Andersonville black and white illustration from See for Men magazine, July 1957 Waterhouse, Charles (illustration) Sufrin, Mark (writer) News soon spread of the sinking, yet little was made of it. President Lincoln had just been assassinated and the country was weary of war news. The authorities in Washington however started an inquiry. Three official investigations were held, at first it was reported that a Confederate bomb had been smuggled on board in the coal, that was quickly dismissed by engineers. They pointed to a number of factors, firstly poorly designed boilers that had been badly repaired, the top-heavy state of the craft and the lack of ballast. Four men were found to be culpable for the overcrowding: Col. Hatch and Captains Speed, Williams and Kerns. Williams and Kerns although holding office concerning the prisoners transportation were clearly able to get out of any censure. It is apparent that Speed was to be held as a scapegoat. He was court-martialled and his defence tried to subpoena the unscrupulous Hatch to testify, he refused having quit the army soon after the disaster, the military justice system could not touch him. Speed was found guilty on all counts and faced a dishonourable discharge, however upon review by the judge Advocate General of the Army the findings were reversed, no one else faced any charges.  There is no memorial to the soldiers who died. Survivors sought to have one erected but it came to nothing. Major Will McTeer the adjutant of the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry which lost 213 men in the catastrophe wrote: There in the bosom of the Mississippi they found their resting place. No stone or tablet marked with their names or even unknown for them ... flowers are strewn over the graves in the cemeteries of our dead but there are none for the men who went down with the Sultana. But let us remember them.
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I was captured with my entire squad and taken to the Libby prison. After a short stay there I was removed to another point further south, Cahaba, Alabama."
"I was held in the barracks for a time and later put on construction work. Being an expert in my line of work I was a little better treated than a lot of others, and was paid fifteen to twenty dollars per day in Confederate currency. This was worth very little compared to greenbacks, probably ten to one."
"On April 24, 1865, about 2,000 of us were received on the SULTANA at Vicksburg. We steamed upstream to Memphis, Tennessee, where we took on more passengers and coal."
"We left Memphis about midnight. There were so many on the boat that quarters for sleep or rest were very scarce. Each person had to bunk as he could. There was a dead northern officer on the forward part of one deck, almost over the boiler room. I laid down on his coffin using my knapsack for a pillow. I told someone that I was going to hold that officer down for the rest of the night."
"The steam was so hot I could scarcely breathe. I groped my way out of this place as quick as I could. It took me a moment to realize what had happened. A boiler had blown up. Within a few minutes the ship caught fire."
"When the crowd fully realized what had happened men began to jump into the water by the hundreds."
"I saw two men pick up a large board probably two by twelve inches and perhaps twelve feet long, carry it to the edge of the boat and drop it overboard among the crowd of men in the water."
"They immediately jumped in after it. The board and two men both disappeared under a mass of humanity struggling to get hold of it."
"I, and others, threw several cords of four foot engine wood overboard for the men in the water to hold to. Many were praying, some were crying, and a few were cursing."
"Some did not seem to be the least bit excited. Personally, I tried to imitate the latter although I thought my time had come and did not think I would get out alive."
"The fire was spreading rapidly from the forward end of the boat and only a few of us were left on board."
"The back part of the boat was getting pretty hot so I began to consider taking to the water. I procured a piece of timber about two by four by four or five feet long. I removed all my clothing except my underclothes and socks, and with this as my only support dropped into the water."
"Not many people were near me and I paddled around awhile on my piece of scantling and got a little way out from the boat. It was now burning fiercely".
"I was lucky enough to capture two fence rails that came floating along. The river was very high from spring rains and there was much debris in the river. It had been raining, was still cloudy, and I never saw a darker night."
"About twelve miles below Memphis I floated nearer the shore. There was an army post at a small town there. I began to cry for help."
"Some one heard me and answered back. We called to each other several times, then I heard someone throw an oar in a rowboat."
"I thought at the time that was the best sound I had ever heard. I guided them by shouting and in a few minutes my rescuers caught up with me. They hauled me into the boat and landed me safely in the little town I had just passed among Union soldiers and friends. After about two weeks I was released and sent home."
Loss of the Sultana and Reminences of Survivors by Rev. Chester D. Berry
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I followed old Johnston to the hell that was Shiloh By the time the Yanks caught me, I'd near forgot why When they let me go home I thought it was over Til the night the Sultana tore open the sky She was a boat proud as any on the whole Mississippi From the Arkansas banks I watched her steam by But her engines were groaning from the load that she carried Just before the Sultana tore open the sky In an instant, the river had flames like a furnace All through the night the wind thundered and cried And men who had come through the battles and prisons Slid into the rolling brown water and died Every boat that we had we pushed into the river And picked up the fortunate few who swam by But a thousand were gone and five hundred soon followed The night the Sultana tore open the sky They were boys from Ohio and old Indiana Battered and weary but their spirits were high Herded like cattle but headed for home The night the Sultana tore open the sky They had come, just like me, through the hell that was Shiloh They had starved at Cahaba and Andersonville We cursed them for Yankees and mourned them for brothers And the name of Sultana bedevils me still Some day when it's time to go to my maker The very first that I'll do is ask why He'd bring men through cannons and chains to be here The night the Sultana tore open the sky -- Charley Sandage, 1996 |
Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.
What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.
Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.
Ideas to start a local project:
Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.
Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.
Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.
Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.
Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.
PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
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Here's hoping for a better day today. We're six minutes in to it and so far so good.
I think I'll sleep half of it away just because I can.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Good night Sam.
Might Shift Bump for the Foxhole
Looks like an interesting thread I will look forward to reading it later.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Thanks alfa6. I'm up way past my bedtime but I'll soon remedy that. Goodnight.
Be sure to update your anti-virus software.
Good morning all (Eastern Time)! What a tragic story ... I love the poem.
Gen. George S. Patton has died, don't know if y'all saw it:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162898/posts
HI! Hope today is a better day!!! Some days should just have never happened, and I think if we had just all stayed in bed yesterday we might have been better off!!! LOL! The bottom line is that I put on pants that were too tight and cut off the oxygen to my brain! How dumb is that??? Yup! Had my brains in the wrong place too! LOL! All is back to normal and better than ever today!!! :)
Is that the Nimitz? It looks kind of like a 68 on the tower.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on June 30:
1470 Charles VIII king of France (1483-98), invaded Italy
1685 John Gay author (Baggars' Opera)
1768 Elizabeth Kortright Monroe 1st lady
1819 William A Wheeler (R) 19th VP (1877-81)
1837 Stephen D Ramseur youngest West Pointer to be Maj Gen
1894 Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian assassin (arch duke Ferdinand)
1898 George Chandler Waukegan Ill, actor (Lassie)
1911 Czeslaw Milosz Polish/American writer (Nobel 1980)
1912 Dan Reeves NFL team owner (Cleveland/LA Rams)
1916 David Wayne actor (Adam's Rib, Andromeda Strain, 3 Faces of Eve)
1917 Buddy Rich Bkln NY, drummer/orch leader (Buddy Rich Band-Away We Go)
1917 Lena Horne Bkln NY, singer (Stormy Weather)
1918 Susan Hayward Flatbush Bkln, actress (I Want to Live, Tulsa)
1934 Harry Blackstone Jr magician (Blackstone Book of Magic & Illusion)
1942 Robert Ballard, explorer/geologist/author/discoverer (Titanic in 1985)
1944 Ron Swoboda baseball outfielder (NY Yankees, NY Mets)
1950 Donna Jean Willmott Akron Ohio, FALN member (FBI most wanted)
1951 Stephen S Oswald Seattle Washington, astronaut (STS 42)
1966 "Iron" Mike Tyson heavyweight boxing champ (1986-90)
1981 Allison Schroeder, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA (1997)
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