Civil War: Steamer SS Sultana Disaster Documents

Description

SS Sultana Disaster Timeline and Key Figures

Timeline of the SS Sultana Disaster

• April 9, 1865: General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia surrenders at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Following this, the U.S. Government begins to demobilize Federal troops and release Confederate prisoners of war.
• Late March 1865: The SS Sultana’s boiler is repaired in New Orleans. The steamer is declared sound and proceeds to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• Mid-April 1865 (approximate): Former Union prisoners from Cahaba and Andersonville prisons are sent to Camp Fisk outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to await transport north.
• April 1865 (specific date unspecified): Captain Frederick Speed volunteers to become the temporary commissioner of exchange for prisoners and coordinates their transfer from Camp Fisk to the wharf in Vicksburg where the Sultana is docked. General Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana, assistant quartermaster, appoints Captain George Augustus Williams to supervise the exchange of prisoners at Camp Fisk.
• April 1865 (specific date unspecified): The SS Sultana, contracted to transport troops and freight, is contracted to carry the paroled prisoners up the Mississippi River to Camp Chase, Ohio.
• April 1865 (specific date unspecified): The SS Sultana departs Vicksburg, Mississippi, carrying approximately 2,200 passengers, significantly exceeding its capacity of 376.
• April 26, 1865 (around 7:00 PM): The SS Sultana leaves Memphis, Tennessee.
• April 27, 1865 (around 2:00 AM): While traveling on the Mississippi River, the boilers of the SS Sultana explode. The ship quickly catches fire.
• April 27, 1865 (morning): Survivors are in the water near the burning and sinking ship. More than 1,700 people die from the explosion, fire, or drowning, making it the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history.
• April 27, 1865 (11:30 AM): Reacting to the disaster, Gen. Cadwallader Colden Washburn, commander of the district of West Tennessee, establishes a panel to investigate the tragedy and takes its first testimony.
• April 29, 1865: Survivors are sent to hospitals in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
• April 30, 1865: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton issues Special Order 195, ordering Brig. Gen. William Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, to begin a separate investigation into the disaster.
• January 9, 1866: Captain Frederick Speed’s court-martial convenes in Vicksburg. He is charged with “neglect of duty to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.”
• July 1866 (approximate): The court-martial finds Captain Frederick Speed guilty and dismisses him from the Army. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Wood upholds the findings and sends the file to Secretary of War Stanton, who forwards the case to Brig. Gen. Joseph Holt, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army.
• September 1, 1866: Brig. Gen. Joseph Holt dismisses the charges against Captain Frederick Speed, and Speed is mustered out of the U.S. Army.
• January 6, 1896: H.R. 3296, a bill “to do justice to the survivors of the shipwreck Sultana,” is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Around 1908-1910: Correspondence occurs with the Committee on Military Affairs regarding the Sultana disaster, as indicated in the Enlisted Branch File.

Cast of Characters

• Chester D Berry: Author of the book “Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors. History of a Disaster Where Over One Thousand Five Hundred Human Beings Were Lost, Most of Them Being Exchanged Prisoners of War on Their Way Home After Privation and Suffering from One to Twenty-Three Months In Cahaba And Andersonville Prisons.” His book collected firsthand accounts from survivors.
• William Butler: A cook aboard the SS Sultana who provided testimony to the Washburn Committee investigating the disaster.
• Simeon D. Chelf: A survivor of the SS Sultana disaster. His account, as recorded in Berry’s book, describes the explosion and the immediate chaos.
• Seth H. Davenport: A man who was near Simeon D. Chelf on the bow of the Sultana and survived the initial explosion.
• General Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana: Assistant Quartermaster who appointed Captain George Augustus Williams to supervise the exchange of prisoners at Camp Fisk.
• Brig. Gen. William Hoffman: Commissary General of Prisoners who was ordered by Secretary of War Stanton to conduct a separate investigation into the Sultana disaster.
• Brig. Gen. Joseph Holt: Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army who ultimately dismissed the charges against Captain Frederick Speed.
• P. L. Horn: A survivor of the SS Sultana disaster. His account in Berry’s book describes being blown into the air and his suspicion of sabotage by Confederate forces.
• W. P. Madden: A survivor of the SS Sultana disaster who had been a prisoner at Andersonville. His recollection in Berry’s book details being trapped under debris after the explosion.
• Edwin M. Stanton: Secretary of War who ordered a separate investigation into the Sultana disaster by Brig. Gen. William Hoffman and was involved in the court-martial of Captain Frederick Speed.
• Captain Frederick Speed: Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers, Department of the Mississippi, who volunteered as the temporary commissioner of exchange for prisoners. He coordinated the transfer of prisoners to the Sultana and was later court-martialed for neglect of duty but ultimately had the charges dismissed.
• Gen. Cadwallader Colden Washburn: Commander of the district of West Tennessee who quickly established a panel to investigate the Sultana disaster immediately after it occurred.
• Captain George Augustus Williams: Captain in the 1st U.S. Infantry who served as commissary of musters at Vicksburg. He was appointed by General Dana to supervise the exchange of prisoners at Camp Fisk.
• Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Wood: Military officer who upheld the guilty verdict of Captain Frederick Speed’s court-martial before the case was sent to the Secretary of War

Civil War: Steamer SS Sultana Disaster Documents

2,544 pages of documents related to the explosion of the steamer SS Sultana on the morning of April 27, 1865, the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.

Early in the morning of April 27, 1865 approximately 1,700 people, both soldiers and civilians, died in the explosion of the steamer Sultana on the Mississippi River. The majority of the victims were former Union prisoners from Cahaba and Andersonville prisons. This disaster was the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.

Information about the disaster and documents found in this collection can be seen in an episode titled “Civil War Sabotage?” of the PBS series History Detectives Special Investigations, which can be viewed at:

_http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/video/2365281276/

The documents in this collection include material from:

Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92; National Archives and Record Administration

Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s to 1917, Record Group 94; National Archives and Record Administration

Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), Record Group 153; National Archives and Records Administration

Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 23; National Archives and Records Administration

Records of the Commissary General of Prisoners, Record Group 249; National Archives and Records Administration

Also included are period newspaper articles and a copy of the book “Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors. History of a Disaster Where Over One Thousand Five Hundred Human Beings Were Lost, Most of Them Being Exchanged Prisoners of War on Their Way Home After Privation and Suffering from One to Twenty-Three Months In Cahaba And Andersonville Prisons,” by Chester D Berry.

History of the Explosion of the Sultana

Following the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, the United States Government began to demobilize Federal troops and release those held in Confederate custody. Most of those sailing on the Sultana were former prisoners held in Confederate prisons in Cahaba, Alabama, and Andersonville, Georgia. The men were sent to Camp Fisk outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where they waited for ships to take them north.

The Quartermaster had the responsibility of transporting soldiers from Confederate prison camps to Federal camps in the north for discharge. The Sultana, owned by the Merchants and People’s line, had a government contract to transport troops and freight. The Sultana was contracted in this instance to carry the men up the Mississippi River to Camp Chase, Ohio.

Captain Frederick Speed, assistant adjutant general of volunteers, Department of the Mississippi, volunteered to take the temporary job of commissioner of exchange for prisoners. He coordinated the transfer of the prisoners from Camp Fisk, Mississippi, to the wharf in Vicksburg where the Sultana was docked. Before departing New Orleans in late March, the Sultana’s boiler had been repaired. She was declared sound, and proceeded to Vicksburg. Steaming away from Vicksburg, she carried approximately 2,200 passengers on a ship built to carry 376. Figures vary on the number of people onboard and the number who died. The Sultana left Memphis, Tennessee, around 7 p.m. on April 26. Around 2 a.m. on the 27th, the boiler exploded. The ship burned quickly, and more than 1,700 people died from the explosion or by drowning.

Investigations

Quickly reacting to the disaster, Gen. Cadwallader Colden Washburn, commander, district of West Tennessee, issued Special Order 109 on April 27 establishing a panel to investigate the tragedy. The commission took its first testimony at 11:30 that morning.

On April 30, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton issued Special Order 195, which ordered Brig. Gen. William Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners, to begin a separate investigation. Many of the files from the Washburn Commission are incorporated into this report.

On January 9, 1866, Speed’s court-martial convened in Vicksburg. He was charged with “neglect of duty to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.” Six months later the court-martial found Speed guilty and dismissed him from the Army. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Wood upheld the findings of the court and sent the file to Secretary of War Stanton, who forwarded the case to Brig. Gen. Joseph Holt, judge advocate general of the U.S. Army.

Holt dismissed the charges, and on September 1, 1866, Speed mustered out of the U.S. Army.

Highlight from this collection include:

Quartermaster vessel file relating to the Sultana. – This file includes the testimony taken before the court of inquiry ordered by Maj. Gen. Cadwallader Washburn; the report of Maj. Gen. William C. Hoffman; and claims from the owners of the Sultana.

Enlisted Branch File – This file includes copies of the reports of the Sultana investigation including the Hoffman report; correspondence with the Committee on Military Affairs (ca. 1908–1910); and information on several Congressional bills for the relief of the survivors.

Appointment, Commission, and Personal file for Capt. George Augustus Williams – Williams was in the 1st U.S. Infantry and served as commissary of musters at Vicksburg. General Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana, assistant quartermaster, appointed him to supervise the exchange of prisoners at Camp Fisk, where the prisoners were held between their release from Cahaba and Andersonville and their passage on the Sultana.

The proceedings and report of the court-martial of Capt. Frederick Speed.

List of Federal prisoners who survived the Sultana.

List of survivors who were sent to the hospital in Vicksburg, MS, on April 29, 1865.

List of those lost onboard the Sultana.

H.R. 3296: A bill to do justice to the survivors of the shipwreck Sultana (January 6, 1896)

List of commissioned officers

List of Indiana soldiers

List of Kentucky soldiers

List of Michigan soldiers

List of Ohio soldiers

List of Tennessee soldiers

List of West Virginia soldiers

Two lists of paroled prisoners of war belonging to different regiments wrecked on the steamer Sultana, April 27, 1865

List of survivors from the steamer Sultana near Memphis, TN, April 27, 1865, consisting of paroled prisoners en route to Camp Chase, OH

List of Sultana survivors

List of prisoners of war who perished onboard the Sultana

“The Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors,” by Chester D Berry

In his book Berry collected stories from survivors of the disasters including:

Simeon D. Chelf

“About two o’clock in the morning of April the 27t the boiler of the boat exploded. When this took place I was sleeping on the bow of the boat with my head against one of the cable posts. Seth H. Davenport was at my left and on his left was a man who was killed. A piece of iron glanced my head, and in the excitement I thought the rebels had fired a battery on us. . . . The front part of the cabin and the pilot house were blown to atoms and the stairway damaged so it could not be traveled. The boat was crowded with soldiers from boiler deck to hurricane deck. a man stood on the lower part of the stairway and hallooed, “the boat is sinking!” The men rushed to the bow of the boat and jumped overboard as fast as they could, tumbling into the river upon each other and going down into the deep by the hundreds.” (pages 87-88)

P. L. Horn

“At the time of the explosion McKelvy and I were lying together asleep, and it is a matter of wonder to me how I escaped when he was so seriously injured. . . . How far or how high I was blown into the air I do not know, but I remember that my feet first struck, water and with the exception of being slightly hurt on my left side I suffered but little from the shock. . . . It is my opinion that the explosion was caused by a torpedo having been placed in the coal by the Confederates at the last coaling station. One of the boilers of the Sultana had just been repaired at Vicksburg. Many of the men who lost their lives were soldiers who had been prisoners for many months, some even for twenty months.” (page 23)

W. P. Madden

“On the morning of the 27th of April, 1865, at about two o’clock, I was asleep dreaming of home and loved ones, of whom I had not heard a word for about ten long months that I had spent in Andersonville prison. Suddenly I was awakened by an upheaval and crashing of timbers. I attempted to arise from my recumbent position and as I threw up my hands to explore my surroundings I got them severely burned, and was horrified to find that my efforts to extricate myself were fruitless and the heat was stifling. I could not tell where I was, but could hear the groans of the wounded and the shrieks of the women mingling with the crackling noise of the flames and the hissing of the white steam that enveloped the boat for a time. . . . I crawled out as black and begrimed as a coal digger. I then discovered that I had been under a piece of boiler iron about a half of a circle, both ends being blocked with timbers and debris thrown hither and thither by the force of the explosion.” (pages 229-230)

Testimony of William Butler, a cook aboard the SS Sultana, given to the Washburn Committee.