Terror on the Mississippi: The Sultana Disaster, Part II
© Curtis Payne
Because of an order by Secretary of War Stanton the news of Lincoln's death would be withheld from all of the military districts of the South; many southern cities would not learn of his death for almost a month.
Steamboats however, were always carrying the latest news, and it was just happenstance that the Sultana would be the first boat to carry the news of the President's death south.
On April 19th, about one hour after dawn the Sultana arrived at New Orleans and by the 21st was ready for the return run. On the evening of April 24th the Sultana pulled into Vicksburg to off-load cargo and pick up passengers.
By chance the Sultana's arrival at Vicksburg coincided with the loading of repatriated Union prisoners of war ordered by the departmental commander, and the Sultana, which had been under government contracts, was selected to take on a load. The order had called for the men to be shipped north in groups of about 1,000, and the pay for this would be $5 per enlisted man and $10 per officer placed on board.
Two boats had already taken thirteen hundred and seven hundred men respectively; the Henry Ames and the Olive Branch.
Partly because the men were eager to start, the authorities decided not to make out the muster rolls in advance, as was usual.
Instead the rolls were to be made out on board, after the steamer had left Vicksburg. Not sure how many men needed transport, it was decided they should be counted as they went aboard.
From Camp Fisk the parolees were loaded into boxcars at Four Mile Bridge to be shuttled into Vicksburg. After unloading the first group of passengers the train repeated the process two more times.
Upon the second group of passengers being unloaded and counted, the counting officer took a break. He returned sometime later, unaware that a third load had been placed in line and went aboard, uncounted, during his absence.
The army reports do not give exact numbers on board, but it was somewhere between 1,800 and 2,000 soldiers. The steamer was packed from top to bottom.
While the loading was in progress, two other northbound boats arrived at Vicksburg - the Pauline Carroll and the Lady Gay. Even though near empty, neither boat was allowed passengers.
