Loss of the Steamer Sultana: America's Worst Maritime Disaster | A Brown Bag Lecture with Norman Shaw

April 27, 1865, on the Mississippi River near Memphis, the boilers of the steamer Sultana exploded. The result was the most deadly maritime disaster in American history, with 1,800 souls lost by fire and drowning. The vessel was transporting home recently released Union POWs, including many East Tennesseans, from the infamous Confederate pens at Andersonville, Georgia, and Cahaba, Alabama. Norman Shaw will describe the greed, human error, and bad fortune that contributed to the tragedy, and he will conclude with a brief account of the continuing work of the Association of Sultana Descendants and Friends. Mr. Shaw founded the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable in 1983 and the Sultana Association in 1987.

The program is sponsored by 21^st Mortgage and is free and open to the public.  The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville.  Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture.  Soft drinks will be available.  For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824.