Difference between revisions of "Maritime"

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==Sultana Disaster==
 
==Sultana Disaster==
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Excerpt of a letter from Pvt. Morris Allen to his father, Noah Allen of Clay Lick, April 5, 1865:
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The Sultana was a steamship that plied the waters of the Mississippi River at the end of the Civil War.  It was hired to pick up northern POWs who had been released from Andersonville and other southern prisons. About 1,800-2,000 such worn and haggard soldiers made their way to Camp Fisk, about four miles from Vicksburg along the river, to await a boat to return them to the north.  The vessel had an official capacity of 376 people, but on the morning of April 27, 1865 it was loaded with an estimated 2,400 soldiers, civilians and crew.  About a third of the soldiers were returning to Ohio.
  
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<i> “Dear Father, I have once more seated myself with pen in hand to write a few lines to you to let you know that I am well and all of the boys that is with me as you might expect after laying in prison 10 months. Joseph Lease (Leese), R. Wilson, John Litle (Little), M. Wilcox, B. Vanhorn and myself have went through the Confederacy safe…We left Andersonville the 25th of March and was passed through our lines the 1st of April…We have just drew some clothing today and got cleaned up again…I tell you what we have seen hard times since the 10th of June…We are in camp four miles from Vicksburg. There is talk of us leaving here soon and it is supposed that we will be sent to Camp Chase, Ohio.” </i>
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When the Sultana was just north of Memphis, a boiler exploded.  About 1,900 people died either as a direct result of the explosion or by not surviving in the cold water of the Mississippi River.  It resulted in the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history with even more deaths than the Titanic.  There was little news of the event at the time, because the newspapers were still preoccupied with the April 14 assassination of President Lincoln.
  
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Pvt. Allen was writing from Camp Fisk, a Union camp set up for the exchange of prisoners. He had recently left Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Nineteen days later, he and some 1,800-2,000 other released POW’s boarded the steamship, Sultana, along with other soldiers, civilians and crew to an unconfirmed total of about 2,400. The ship was built for a capacity of 376 people, although it could normally handle the load. They were finally returning home up the Mississippi River, over a third of them to Ohio.   
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The known soldiers from Licking County who died were Morris Allen, Joseph Leese, John Little and Marvin Wilcox, all of the 95th O.V.I. Company F; Charles Roberts of the 12th O.V.I. Company E; and Thomas Thomas of the 76th O.V.I. Company H.   
  
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Just north of Memphis in the early morning of April 27, a boiler exploded, resulting in the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.  The explosion and sinking of the boat resulted in the deaths of about 1,900 of the passengers, even more people than were lost on the Titanic. There was little news coverage, because the newspapers were preoccupied with the end of the war and Lincoln’s assassination on April 14.
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As bodies were found by the recovery efforts, they were taken to Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis for burial.  Sometime later, they were moved to the Memphis National Cemetery.  As they brought up each coffin to prepare for the move, the name was printed on top in chalk.  Then, before being reinterred, a rain storm washed away the names, which became the third disaster for those poor soldiers, following being imprisoned and death from the Sultana explosion. The Memphis National Cemetery is reminiscent of Arlington National Cemetery with a large section of row upon row of perfectly aligned grave markers for unknown soldiers.
  
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Morris Allen, Joseph Leese, John Little and Marvin Wilcox, all mentioned above, were killed that night, so close to going home after enduring the horrors of war and Andersonville Prison. They had all served in the 95th OVI, Company F. Two others from Licking County who died that night were Charles Roberts of the 12th  OVI, Company E, and Thomas Thomas of the 76th, Company H.   
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Some Licking County men survived the disaster, however, such as James Anderson and Edward W. Evans of the 1st Cavalry Company D; James W. McCarty of the 6th O.V.I. Company D; Burriss Vanhorn and Robert Wilson, both of the 95th O.V.I. Company F; William D. Lugenbeal of the 135th O.N.G. Company F; and the following four from the 76th O.V.I.: Albert Norris and James Thompson, both of Company A, James Stone of Company D, and Emanuel Hush Yeisley of Company G.   
  
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As bodies were gathered from the cold waters of the Mississippi, they were taken to  Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis for burial. At a later date, they were moved to the Memphis National Cemetery.  Local lore in Memphis relates that as they brought out each coffin to move it, the soldier’s name was printed on top in chalk. Then, before they could be reinterred, a rain storm washed away all the names—a third disaster for those hapless POW’s.  This cemetery has the second largest number of unknown graves of any national cemetery.
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Each of these survivors had their stories to tell, but that of William D. Lugenbeal became the stuff of legend. The captain of the Sultana kept a pet alligator on board in a crate, which was quite an attraction for travelers. Immediately after the explosion, Lugenbeal found something to kill the alligator, tossed the crate into the river, and then hung onto it for dear life until his rescue.  Many of the survivors must have thought there was an alligator on the loose in the river.<ref>Brister, Judge E. M. P.  The Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking
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  County.  Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1909.
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</ref><ref>Fleming, Dan, writer, editor and compiler.  Shall Licking County Raise a Regiment?
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  Newark, OH:  Licking County Library, 2011.
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</ref><ref>Ohio, Roster Commission.  Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War
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  of the Rebellion, 1861-1865.  12 v.  Akron:  Werner Co., 1886-1895.
 +
</ref><ref>Potter, Jerry O.  The Sultana Tragedy; America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster.  Gretna,
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  LA: Pelican Pub. Co., 1992.
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</ref><ref>Salecker, Gene Eric.  Disaster on the Mississippi; The Sultana Explosion, April 27,
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  1865.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Pr., 1996.
 +
</ref>
 +
 
 +
'''D.F.'''
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Latest revision as of 15:32, 8 March 2017

Sultana Disaster

The Sultana was a steamship that plied the waters of the Mississippi River at the end of the Civil War. It was hired to pick up northern POWs who had been released from Andersonville and other southern prisons. About 1,800-2,000 such worn and haggard soldiers made their way to Camp Fisk, about four miles from Vicksburg along the river, to await a boat to return them to the north. The vessel had an official capacity of 376 people, but on the morning of April 27, 1865 it was loaded with an estimated 2,400 soldiers, civilians and crew. About a third of the soldiers were returning to Ohio.

When the Sultana was just north of Memphis, a boiler exploded. About 1,900 people died either as a direct result of the explosion or by not surviving in the cold water of the Mississippi River. It resulted in the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history with even more deaths than the Titanic. There was little news of the event at the time, because the newspapers were still preoccupied with the April 14 assassination of President Lincoln.

The known soldiers from Licking County who died were Morris Allen, Joseph Leese, John Little and Marvin Wilcox, all of the 95th O.V.I. Company F; Charles Roberts of the 12th O.V.I. Company E; and Thomas Thomas of the 76th O.V.I. Company H.

As bodies were found by the recovery efforts, they were taken to Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis for burial. Sometime later, they were moved to the Memphis National Cemetery. As they brought up each coffin to prepare for the move, the name was printed on top in chalk. Then, before being reinterred, a rain storm washed away the names, which became the third disaster for those poor soldiers, following being imprisoned and death from the Sultana explosion. The Memphis National Cemetery is reminiscent of Arlington National Cemetery with a large section of row upon row of perfectly aligned grave markers for unknown soldiers.

Some Licking County men survived the disaster, however, such as James Anderson and Edward W. Evans of the 1st Cavalry Company D; James W. McCarty of the 6th O.V.I. Company D; Burriss Vanhorn and Robert Wilson, both of the 95th O.V.I. Company F; William D. Lugenbeal of the 135th O.N.G. Company F; and the following four from the 76th O.V.I.: Albert Norris and James Thompson, both of Company A, James Stone of Company D, and Emanuel Hush Yeisley of Company G.

Each of these survivors had their stories to tell, but that of William D. Lugenbeal became the stuff of legend. The captain of the Sultana kept a pet alligator on board in a crate, which was quite an attraction for travelers. Immediately after the explosion, Lugenbeal found something to kill the alligator, tossed the crate into the river, and then hung onto it for dear life until his rescue. Many of the survivors must have thought there was an alligator on the loose in the river.[1][2][3][4][5]

D.F.

References

  1. ↑ Brister, Judge E. M. P. The Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1909.
  2. ↑ Fleming, Dan, writer, editor and compiler. Shall Licking County Raise a Regiment? Newark, OH: Licking County Library, 2011.
  3. ↑ Ohio, Roster Commission. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. 12 v. Akron: Werner Co., 1886-1895.
  4. ↑ Potter, Jerry O. The Sultana Tragedy; America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster. Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub. Co., 1992.
  5. ↑ Salecker, Gene Eric. Disaster on the Mississippi; The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Pr., 1996.
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