What kind of vessel was the sultana

For a city that is technically miles from the Gulf of Mexico along the Mississippi River, it is a very busy port and has been since the early days of the western exploration. A landmark in New Orleans today is the tourist steamboat Natchez. This steam powered paddle wheel ship cruises up and down the Mississippi with decks full of tourists to show how people traveled back in the early s. Interestingly enough, this type of ship was the setting of one of the biggest disasters in U.

For reference, 1, people died when the Titanic sunk. The other major headline that overshadowed the Sultana disaster is that President Lincoln was murdered 12 days before. His assassin John Wilkes Booth was executed the day before the boat sunk. Before the Sultana arrived in Vicksburg, Miss. Upon arrival, R. This would mean they would miss their awaiting Union army passengers.

Captain J. Cass Mason told Taylor to just patch the boiler up so they could keep going. The Sultana started to load passengers in Vicksburg on April 24, The boat was certified for less than travelers. An estimated 2, people were in line to board. This was brought to the attention of Reuben Hatch, the quartermaster of Vicksburg and port authority; he was by most accounts a very corrupt man.

Hatch knew that the ship was dangerously over capacity with passengers. It is alleged that Hatch was taking a kickback from Captain Mason per head loaded on the Sultana. The U. The last known photo of the Sultana looked as if passengers had been poured out of a hose on the top of the ship.

They had to use additional supports to keep the top deck from collapsing. The Sultana Disaster. April 27, The Sultana in Library of Congress. The Sultana in Library of Congress On April 23, , the vessel docked in Vicksburg to address issues with the boiler during a routine journey from New Orleans. Explosion of the Steamer "Sultana," April 28 Harper's Weekly The Sultana steamed north up the Mississippi, but the severe overcrowding and faster river current caused by the spring thaw put increased pressure on its newly patched boilers.

Related Articles. View All Related Resources. Naval Actions of the Civil War. Johnson of Erie, Pennsylvania where she continued in the fiercely competitive Buffalo Chicago trade. The season ended early, however, as the steamer broke her machinery in the straits and had to be towed to Detroit. Meanwhile, the Sultana continued to operate for the Buffalo and Chicago Line. The increasing costs of operating the Queen City apparently prompted Reed to sell the vessel in to Green Bay parties.

Summer witnessed the full effects of the Panic of resulting in early lay up of most of the large passenger steamers. The Panic The Panic had its beginning earlier in the spring with a run on a Cincinnati bank.

It was fueled by the over expansion of railroad building along with land and stock market speculation. High prices paid for land and stock investments were underwritten by bank loans, with over valued land pledged as collateral. All was fine so long as food prices remained high. However, the end of the Crimean War in Europe in had reduced export demand for food, leading to lower prices.

With their incomes thus diminished, many farmers were unable to make loan payments, resulting in foreclosure. With prospects for economic prosperity in agriculture thus diminished, immigration fell drastically. By , the year following the Financial Panic, immigration was only , souls, less than 30 percent of what it had been in the peak year of The high cost of operating the large ships, along with the reduction in passenger trade, doomed them.

Even the Plymouth Rock and Western World, barely three years old, would never raise steam again. The successful bidder was her former owner C. The term successful, however, was deceptive as she remained laid up for the next four years. The Sultana made some news in when she broke free from her moorings on the Detroit River and drifted down stream. She struck the Great Western Railway dock in Windsor and sank. However, she was later raised and returned to her mooring. In April of , the cabins of the Sultana were removed and converted to souvenir and hot dog stands on Belle Isle Park in the Detroit River.

The significant increase in trade, along with the Navy's purchase of many lake vessels for blockade service, resulted in very high rates. Many old hulls were put into service including those of the laid up side wheel steamer fleet.

The Sultana had her machinery removed and entered service as a barge in April with the Queen City undergoing a similar conversion and entering service in July. Both vessels had been purchased by J.

Noyes and Co. The Sultana was generally in tow of the tug Reindeer while the Queen City was towed by the tug Eagle. The two remained in this service throughout and the summer of Bound for the Saginaw River and another load of lumber, she and the tug Eagle were encountering heavy weather on the night of August The barge sprung a leak causing her to take on water faster than her pumps could handle it.

Captain Boynton of the Eagle was having great difficulty in controlling the increasingly water logged Queen City. Accounts differ as to what happened next. The seven man crew of the Queen City reported that the Eagle cut them adrift in the northeast gale that was then blowing.

Captain Boynton made no effort to rescue the crew and headed back to the shelter of the St. Clair River. The Queen City was thus at the mercy of the waves. Later that evening she struck a rock or began to break up. The crew abandoned the vessel and safely made it to shore. While in the process of this maneuver, he claimed that the crew of the barge cast off the tow line. Amid accusations from both sides, the controversy continued in the press for several weeks. The wreckage of the Queen City herself continued to float in the lake.

Captain Ratteray of the steamer Susan Ward reported seeing the wreck floating off the Michigan thumb five days after her loss. Strong northerly winds persisted in the two weeks following the disaster, carrying the wreckage to a point between Lexington and Lakeport, Michigan before the Queen City finally went to the bottom.

Noles and Co. On November 12, the barge Sultana in tow of the tug Reindeer had just rounded Point aux Barques and was headed south with a full load of lumber for Buffalo. Hugging the shore too closely, the Sultana struck a reef, filled with water, and settled on the bottom. The tug Reindeer took the crew off and headed to Detroit where pumps were secured. The Reindeer returned to the site of the wreck with the crews attempting to patch and refloat the vessel. However, the "Witch of November" had other ideas and soon gales and high seas broke the Sultana up in place.