Civil War

Ever hear of the steamship Sultana? Most people haven't (including me, until I stumbled across an article about it this week), even though its demise marked the worst maritime disaster in Amercan history. (And here's a whole book about it.) On the night of April 27, 1865, the steamer was on the Mississippi River near Memphis, loaded with soldiers who were veterans of some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The boiler exploded, and more that 1,800 of the passengers died.