SS Sultana.

This is coolbert:

Here with a special one-hour episode of the "History Detectives" that I recommend highly, without reservation or qualification.

The SINKING OF THE SS SULTANA! Worse maritime disaster in American history. And having a definite military dimension.

"Investigations"
"Civil War Sabotage?"

Sabotage? Three previous congressional investigations having probed the disaster of the Sultana and having never reached a 100 % definite conclusion.

The Case:

"When the SS Sultana exploded on April 27, 1865, more than 1,800 died —outnumbering the death toll from the Titanic disaster. Why, then, do so few people know about one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history? And what caused the explosion that took so many lives?"

A substantial number of the killed Federal prisoners of war being repatriated in the aftermath of the American civil war.

"The Civil War was finally over, and most of the passengers aboard that night were Union soldiers returning to their families from Confederate prison camps. But the number of people on board far exceeded the ship’s capacity—they barely had room to stand."

"At 2:00 a.m. a mysterious explosion below deck set the Sultana ablaze and catapulted passengers into the frigid Mississippi."

"Can the History Detectives solve the mysterious explosion of the SS Sultana? Was it an act of Confederate sabotage? Faulty machinery? Dangerous conditions?"

"Meeting with descendants of rebel boat burners and Sultana survivors, uncovering government records, and hunting for the wreck site, the team reveals a tale of incompetence, bribery, politics and nepotism that leads all the way to President Lincoln and the White House."

View the episode for yourself! NOTE TOO [and not mentioned in the program] is that Southerners immediately and without hesitation gave a marked degree of aid and comfort to the survivors! Mercy and succor extended an action ADMIRABLE IN THE EXTREME!

coolbert.