The Sultana Disaster

The worst maritime disaster in American history occurred on the Mississippi River near Helena (Phillips County) on April 27, 1865, when a commercial side-wheel steamboat named the Sultana exploded, claiming the lives of its 1,167 passengers.

The wooden vessel was built in 1863 by the John Litherbury Boatyard in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was officially launched into service on January 3 of that year. The boat was intended for the cotton trade on the lower Mississippi River. It weighed 1,719 tons and could carry a crew of 85, along with approximately 375 passengers.

For its first two years in operation, the Sultana ran a regular route on the Mississippi River between the two major port cities of St. Louis and New Orleans. It was also used to carry troops during the Civil War.

Even though the Sultana was designed with a capacity of only 375 passengers, it was carrying 2,128 when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and caused it to sink near Memphis. The tragedy was largely overshadowed in the newspapers of the day due to the events surrounding the end of the Civil War, as well as the murder of President Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth, which took place the day before the Sultana disaster.

The Sultana explosion was officially attributed to boiler water level mismanagement, which was made worse by the ship's extreme overloading and top-heavy design. The steamer listed badly from side to side as it traveled north, following the river's many curves. The Sultana’s four boilers were positioned side by side and connected so that water would tend to drain out of the topmost boiler if the boat toppled sideways. Hot areas were generated by the fires still burning against the empty boiler. A quick increase in pressure would result from water pouring back into the empty boiler and hitting the hot areas, instantly flashing to steam when the boat tipped the other way. Maintaining high water levels in the boilers may have minimized this careening effect. The official inquiry found that the boilers exploded because of the combined impact of careening, low water levels, and the faulty repair made a few days earlier.

Through the years, several monuments and historical markers commemorating the Sultana disaster and its 1,167 victims have been placed in Memphis; Muncie, Indiana; Vicksburg, Mississippi; Cincinnati; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Marion (Crittenden County).

An archaeological expedition, led by Memphis lawyer Jerry Potter in 1982, uncovered what was believed to be the remains of the Sultana. Blackened wooden deck planks were found about 32 feet under a soybean field on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. The river has changed course many times since the Sultana disaster, leaving the wreckage under dry land and far from the river’s present course, as the Mississippi’s main channel now flows two miles east of its 1865 position.

In 2015, on the 150th anniversary of the disaster, an interim museum dedicated to the Sultana was opened in Marion. The museum was only meant to be temporary while funds were raised to build a permanent museum. Featured in the museum are artifacts from the Sultana, such as shaker plates from the boat's furnace, furnace bricks, and pieces of metal and wood from the ship. The museum also features a fourteen-foot model replica of the boat. One wall in the museum lists the names of every soldier, crewmember, and passenger who lost their lives in the disaster. The current museum is located at 104 Washington Street in Marion.

Recently, the non-profit Sultana Historic Preservation Society, Inc. acquired the 1939 Marion Public School auditorium and gymnasium for renovation as the future home of the permanent museum. A team of architects, exhibit designers, and planners is working on concepts for the 17,000-square-foot facility. With a more accessible location, the historic building with its 35-foot ceilings will offer ample capacity for a new, state-of-the-art museum that will educate visitors about the Sultana tragedy and honor the memory of its victims.

For more information about the Sultana museum and how you can contribute, visit its website at www.sultanadisastermuseum.com.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend, Arkansas!