After Andersonville: The Sultana and the Cruelest Twist of the Civil War

After Andersonville: The Sultana and the Cruelest Twist of the Civil War

April 15, 2026 · 1h 20m · Episode 74

About this episode

This episode discusses the tragic maritime disaster of the Sultana, which resulted in the deaths of many Union soldiers returning home after the Civil War.

Send us Fan Mail Deep into the night on April 27, 1865, the boilers on the steamboat Sultana exploded, triggering the worst maritime disaster in US history. More than a thousand people died, either from the explosion itself or trying to survive in the freezing cold Mississippi River afterward. The disaster was tragic well beyond the number of casualties as most of the dead were Union soldiers returning home from Confederate prison camps at the end of the Civil War. In this episode, Jeff Kolla...

People in this episode

Host: Dean Klinkenberg

Guest: Jeff Kolla

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: After Andersonville: The Sultana and the Cruelest Twist of the Civil War

Places: Mississippi River

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