Overview: In April 1865, just weeks after the Civil War ended, more than 2,000 Union soldiers boarded the Sultana steamboat on the Mississippi River—despite the vessel being designed to carry fewer than 400 passengers. Many of the men were former prisoners of war, recently freed from brutal Confederate camps and finally heading home. In the … Continue reading The Sultana Disaster: America’s Deadliest Maritime Tragedy You’ve Never Heard Of