Vicksburg in Warren County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
The Sultana's Last Voyage
Photographed by Mark Hilton, May 25, 2017
1. The Sultana's Last Voyage Marker
Inscription.
The Sultana's Last Voyage. . The Sultana, a side-wheel steamboat built in Cincinnati in 1863, was 260' long and was designed to carry only 376 people along with its cargo. On April 24, 1865, the Sultana docked in Vicksburg to pick up Union soldiers recently released from Confederate prisons. The Federal Government paid steamboat lines $5 per soldier for the trip to Cairo, Illinois. Prior to its arrival in Vicksburg, it was discovered that one of the four boilers was leaking. Instead of taking the time to replace the boiler, and perhaps lose the commission to ferry the men, a metal patch was placed over the bulge in the boiler. The time that it took to make repairs allowed for more soldiers to crowd onto the decks of the boat until it overflowed with more than 2,300 souls. The Sultana made several stops along its northward journey up the Mississippi. When it was 7 miles north of Memphis in the early morning hours of April 27, three of the four boilers exploded. Over 1,700 people were killed in the explosion, the fire that followed, and in the swift flood waters of the Mississippi. This accident is said to be the worst maritime disaster in American history., Sponsored by The J. Mack Gamble Fund of The Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, The Friends and Descendants of the Sultana
The Sultana, a side-wheel steamboat built in Cincinnati in 1863, was 260' long and was designed to carry only 376 people along with its cargo.
On April 24, 1865, the Sultana docked in Vicksburg to pick up Union soldiers recently released from Confederate prisons. The Federal Government paid steamboat lines $5 per soldier for the trip to Cairo, Illinois.
Prior to its arrival in Vicksburg, it was discovered that one of the four boilers was leaking. Instead of taking the time to replace the boiler, and perhaps lose the commission to ferry the men, a metal patch was placed over the bulge in the boiler. The time that it took to make repairs allowed for more soldiers to crowd onto the decks of the boat until it overflowed with more than 2,300 souls.
The Sultana made several stops along its northward journey up the Mississippi. When it was 7 miles north of Memphis in the early morning hours of April 27, three of the four boilers exploded. Over 1,700 people were killed in the explosion, the fire that followed, and in the swift flood waters of the Mississippi. This accident is said to be the worst maritime disaster in American history.
Sponsored by The J. Mack Gamble Fund of The Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, The Friends and Descendants of the Sultana
Erected 2005 by the City of Vicksburg Riverfront Mural Committee.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical date for this entry is April 24, 1865.
Location. 32° 21.049′ N, 90° 53.04′ W.
Click or scan to see this page online
Marker is in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in Warren County. It is on Levee Street north of Clay Street, on the left when traveling north. The Vicksburg Riverfront Murals are located on the Yazoo Diversion Canal levee wall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Levee Street, Vicksburg MS 39183, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Natchez Trace Corridor and in Greater Jackson. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2018. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 591 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on June 1, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
