Just days after the Civil War ended, tragedy struck on the Mississippi River. On April 27, 1865, the SS Sultana, an overcrowded steamboat carrying recently released Union prisoners of war, exploded near Memphis, Tennessee. The result was the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history, claiming over 1,800 lives – a staggering loss of life that still shocks us today. Yet, it remains a little-known chapter of American history. 

Just weeks after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, a wooden steamboat named SS Sultana exploded. The vessel was grossly overloaded, carrying more than 2,100 people, far beyond its legal capacity of 376. Most of the passengers were Union soldiers who had survived Confederate prison camps like Andersonville and Cahaba and were finally heading home. Tragically, they never made it. A faulty boiler, already known to be in poor condition, exploded and set off a chain of blasts, igniting the ship and sending hundreds into the cold, fast-moving river.

Despite the staggering death toll – estimated at over 1,800 – the disaster was largely overshadowed in the press due to recent seismic events, including the surrender of Confederate forces and the national mourning for President Lincoln. The tragedy remains one of the deadliest maritime accidents in U.S. history, but is often forgotten in mainstream historical narratives.

Fun Facts:

• The SS Sultana, built in 1863, was a product of the Civil War era. It was primarily used to transport cotton and passengers, but its role expanded during the war. The vessel was later tasked with repatriating Union soldiers from Confederate prison camps, a mission that would tragically end in disaster.
• It was carrying over 5 times its legal capacity at the time of the explosion.
• A boiler, hastily repaired days earlier, was the cause of the explosion.
• The majority of the victims were Union POWs returning home.
• It remains the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history by death toll.
• The Sultana tragedy was overshadowed by Lincoln’s assassination and barely made front-page news; an example of how history can sometimes bury even the worst of disasters.