Terror on the Mississippi: The Sultana Disaster, Part III
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- spondulix11
- spondulix11
- ttha001
- ttha001
- spondulix11
- ttha001
- skbran
- FortBrooke1824
- Wrap10
- FortBrooke1824
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» spondulix11 - Re: Legitimate warfare or terrorism?
In response to message posted by ttha001:What if the coal bomb had been placed at random, i.e. in the coaling station, and then by chance was placed on board the Sultana, would you then see it as an act of terriorism or simply a act of war gone wrong?
curtis
-- posted by spondulix11
» spondulix11 - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Article draws heavily on other s
In response to message posted by Wrap10:Perry however you want to handle it it fine with me.
curtis
-- posted by spondulix11
» ttha001 - Re: Re: Legitimate warfare or terrorism?
In response to message posted by spondulix11:If that was Louden's intent, it probably would have been seen by the South as an act of war gone wrong. The Sultana coaled at Memphis, which I believe was in territory claimed by the CSA, and was a civilian vessel under contract to the union army--those two conditions made it a legitimate target according to the laws and regulations that these men operated under.
I'm sure the North would have taken the opposite view. Prisoners were often exchanged on the basis of a parole--a promise to go home and not resume fighting. Even if the Confederacy was still viable in April 1865, freed union prisoners would not have been legitimate targets of hostilities.
Which may explain why Louden, if he did do it, waited to make a deathbed confession. Even under the most favorable interpretation, he was guilty of mass murder.
Of course, if a coal torpedo was left at a coaling station for the purpose of destroying whatever union steamer was unlucky enough to pick it up, that undercuts the revenge theory, which relies on Louden knowing that Capt Mason, who previously took away Louden's wife, was aboard the Sultana.
-- posted by ttha001
» ttha001 - I seem to have contradicted myself
In one message I said that if Louden destroyed the Sultana, it was terrorism. In another, I said it could have been a legitimate act of war gone wrong.As nice as it would be to have an objective means for deciding such questions, I think it depends on intent as well as outcome. And perhaps most importantly, on who won.
Consider the Northwest Conspiracy: a plot to free Confederate prisoners held outside of Chicago, arm them, and move them south through Illinois. The purpose was two-fold: to force the union to withdraw troops from the front lines to deal with the situation, and to terrorize the population of the northwestern states, so they would put pressure on Washington to negotiate peace with the south. Was this terrorism?
Now think about the movie "The Great Escape" in which a group of allied POW's try to escape from a German prison camp to cause havoc in Germany. Funny, I never thought of Steve McQueen as a terrorist before. 
-- posted by ttha001
» spondulix11 - Re: I seem to have contradicted myself
In response to message posted by ttha001:I am reminded of a movie called "one Man's Hero"
It was about the San Patricio battalion in the Mexican war, they were former American soldiers who went over to the Mexican side. thus the title One man's Hero's are another man's traitor, In the case of the San Patricio's they were seen as heros to the Mexican's and were of course traitors to the American side. Those caught were hung.
So in effect are you saying that thre isn't a clear defination of a terriorest act as appossed to a act of war?
curtis
-- posted by spondulix11
» ttha001 - Re: Re: I seem to have contradicted myself
In response to message posted by spondulix11:The extremes (on both sides of the question) are easy to judge; there is a gray area in the middle that involves subjective factors like intent and which side is doing the judging.
-- posted by ttha001
» FortBrooke1824 - Camp Cahaba, Alabama
You can look at this site previous people have talked about Camp Cahaba before and you might pick up some additional information.Camp Cahaba, was started on month earlier then Andersonville, GA. Cahaba was started in Jan. of 1864 in the Selma, Alabama area. Nothing is left of Cahaba today however. The soldiers that passed away there were moved to Marietta National Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia around 1867. Using this www.cem.va.gov you should be able to find any soldier buried in a National Cemetery.
Curtis the author of this article did an outstanding job in my opinion. He also had an ancestor on board the Sultana. Another site called Indiana in the Civil War has an entire page about the soldiers on the Sultana and might even have your ancestors names. Good Luck in your search
-- posted by FortBrooke1824
» Wrap10 - Re: Cahaba Civil War Prison
In response to message posted by skbran:Welcome to the board Sandy.
In addition to the information Dennis gave you, you might take a look at this site - http://www.censusdiggins.com/prison_caha...
It appears to be a privately run site, but it looks to have some good information. Best of luck, and let us know how your search goes.
-- posted by Wrap10
» FortBrooke1824 - Sultana survivors from Ohio
Curtis, I did see where the last living member of the Sultana disaster died in Licking County Ohio in 1936.I also saw this today while searching for something else. This is from the Columbus Gazette that appeared on May 12, 1865. There are two articles concerning the story.
"Survivors of the Sultana Disaster.- Some 230 Ohio soldiers, survivors of the terrible disaster to the steamer Sultana, recently burned on the Mississippi River, just above Memphis, arrived at Camp Chase on Thursday last. Many of them are still suffering from scalds and wounds received by the disaster. The have been well provided for by the Governor."
"Ohio Losses on the Ill-fated Steamer Sultana- Mr. Wm. H. Young, of this city, whose son was injured by the explosion of the Sultana, has received a letter from him in which he furnishes the following list of the members of the 95th Ohio, who were on board at the time of the accident.
Company A.- Oliver Reed, George H. Young saved.
Company B.- Elliott McMillan, saved.
Company E.- W. Owen, Wm Shaul,Samuel Paysoll,
George Rollins, Peter Miller, lost.
Company F.- Marris Allen, Wm. Paysoll, John Lytle
Joseph Lease, Marim Wilcox, lost
Burrass Venham, saved.
Company G.- Isaac Parker, saved. Freeman Jackson,
lost.
Company H.- Samuel Hornwell, lost.
George H. Young, the son alluded to, was an invalid soldier, on his way home, after long suffering from diseases of the camps, wounds in the field, and from the terrible treatment of rebel prisons. He is soon expected home, and we sincerely hope he may regain his health and spirits, and cheer once more the family circle which so long has missed him from the hearthstone."
-- posted by FortBrooke1824
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