The 1865 Wreck of the S.S. Sultana (Episode 115)

In April 1865, the deadliest shipwreck in American history occurred when a steamship exploded in the middle of the Mississippi River. On this episode, we're discussing the Civil War, cast-iron fire-tube boilers, and how a steamship with the legal capacity for 460 people ended up carrying just over 2,100.

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Sources for this episode include:

"The Explosion of the S. S. Sultana", 2014

"The Sultana Association of Descendants and Friends"

"The Search for a Photo of the Man Behind the Sultana Disaster", E. Demerel for Mental Floss, 2015

"Loss of the Sultana and the Recollections of Survivors", by C Berry, 1866