Imagine if there was a catastrophic disaster in our country in which over one thousand members of our military were killed because of negligence and greed of others. What would be the reaction if we found out that these service men and women were killed simply because people wanted to make money off of their transportation from one place to another? Would you be outraged? Would you call for an investigation? How would you respond if there were some who tried to sweep it under the rug, hush it up, keep it quiet? Would that outrage you even more? Surely something like this would never happen in the United States…right?

Something like this DID happen in the United States following the close of the Civil War. In the early hours of April 27th, 1865, mere days after the end of the Civil War, the Sultana burst into flames along the Mississippi River. The Sultana was a 260-foot-long wooden steamboat, built in Cincinnati in 1863, which regularly transported passengers and freight between St. Louis and New Orleans on the Mississippi River. On April 23, 1865, the vessel docked in Vicksburg to address issues with the boiler during a routine journey from New Orleans. While in port, it was contracted by the U.S. Government to carry former Union prisoners of war from Confederate prisons, such as Andersonville and Cahaba, back into Northern territory. Although it was designed to only hold 376 persons, more than 2,000 Union troops were crowded onto the steamboat – more than five times its legal carrying capacity. Many of these men were barely able to walk after long term illnesses suffered in prison camps. Others were from the local military hospital who had recovered enough to go home. Despite concerns of overloading from several officers, Quartermaster of the Port, Captain Reuben Hatch, refused to divide the men, insisting that they travel on one vessel.

Shortly after leaving Memphis, Tennessee on April 27th, the over strained boilers exploded, blowing apart the center of the boat and starting an uncontrollable fire. Many of those who were not killed immediately perished as they tried to swim to shore. Of the initial survivors, 200 later died from burns sustained during the incident. Researchers indicate that 1,195 of the 2,200 passengers and crew died, making the Sultana incident the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history.

Why did this happen? How could such an event occur? And why haven’t most of us heard about this? It’s simple, greed.

The U.S. government would pay US$2.75 per enlisted man and US$8 per officer to any steamboat captain who would take a group north. Knowing that the captain of the Sultana, James Mason, needed money, Quartermaster Hatch suggested that he could guarantee Mason a full load of about 1,400 prisoners if Mason would agree to give him a kickback. Mason quickly agreed to Hatch’s offer, hoping to gain much money through this deal. There were quick and faulty repairs made to the Sultana’s equipment, and the men were loaded on with little regard for their well being.

Despite the magnitude of the disaster, no one was ever formally held accountable. The disaster was overshadowed in the press by events following the killing of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth just the day before. The public was not made aware, families were quickly notified and the Sultana slipped into the oblivion of history.

Jesus once said, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” We must never turn a blind eye away from evil and injustices around us. As Christians we can have no excuse of ignorance, no claims of unawareness, because we see through the eyes of Christ.

Let us remember the Sultana by looking for ways in which we can fight the evils around us and bring to light the ways in which our community can bring about life changing moments in people’s lives.

The sin of the Sultana was not an accident, it was arrogance, it was an explosion, but an implosion of greed and vice. We as Christians stand on the front-line against such evil, so let us stand the watch and be ready to respond when God calls.

Remember the Sultana my friends.

Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – United States Coast Guard, Station Galveston TX
Chaplain – Texas Game Warden Service, Freestone County
Cell: 919-935-2513
Email: pastormike@fumcfairfield.org