Remember the Sultana is a documentary film which premiered in 2018.
The Sultana was a commercial steamboat with two side-wheels which sailed on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War (1861-1865).
In April 1865, only a few days after the Civil War was over, the Sultana was one of several boats which were used to transport former prisoners of war (Union soldiers) from the South towards the North.
The soldiers had survived the war. They had survived being prisoners of war under harsh conditions. Some were weak, but all were happy to be going home. Sadly, most of them would never reach their home. Most of them would never see their families and friends again.
On 27 April 1865 at 2 AM, while the Sultana was sailing on the river, packed with ca. 2,400 people, a terrible accident took place when three of the four boilers exploded.
The central section of the boat was torn apart; hot steam was sprayed on the passengers; the boat was on fire and could no longer be controlled by the crew. After drifting for a while, the boat sank to the bottom of the river.
More than half of the people who were on the boat were killed at once or died later. Only one fourth of the people who were on the boat survived this tragic accident.
It was the worst maritime disaster in the history of the US. But in the public memory it was dwarfed by the Civil War which had lasted four years and which had cost 600,000 lives.
Obviously, the survivors and their families remembered everything, but the general public soon forgot about it.
The purpose of this film is to make sure that this case is not forgotten. It covers the history of the Sultana. From the beginning to the end. What happened before, during, and after the tragedy of 27 April 1865?
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Directors: Mark Marshall and Mike Marshall
** Writer: Brendan Hodges
** Narrator: Sean Astin
** Run time: 96 minutes
THE CAST
Many persons are interviewed in the film. Most of them are descendants of survivors. I will not mention their names here, because the complete list is too long.
Four historians, who have studied the case, are interviewed. Here are their names:
** Louis Intres
** Jerry O. Potter
** Gene Salecker
** Mark Willoughby
Many survivors wrote a brief account of their personal experience during the disaster.
Reverend Chester Dawson Berry (1844-1926) (who was among the survivors) collected some of them and presented them in a book which was published in 1892.
Some of these accounts are presented in the film.
THE PLOT
Many aspects of the case are explored in the film:
# 1. How many people were on the boat? And why was the boat so packed with passengers?
The Sultana was licensed to carry 376 passengers and a crew of 80. But in April 1865, the number of passengers was far above the legal limit. The exact number is unknown. Not every passenger was registered. Here is a rough estimate:
** Former POWs (Union soldiers) = ca. 2,200
** Paying passengers (civilians) = ca. 100
** The crew = ca. 80
** The total number of people = almost 2,400
** The number of victims = between 1,700 and 1,800
** The number of survivors = between 500 and 600
The captain of the boat wanted as many soldiers as possible on his boat because the army paid per person. More soldiers would mean more money to the company which owned the boat.
# 2. Why did the accident happen? Was there no inspection of the boat? No control of safety?
The crew knew the boilers were dangerous. Just before the transport began, there had been a minor incident. The boilers had to be repaired.
A proper overhaul would take two or three days. But this was too long. The captain could not wait. The soldiers were going home now. If he was not ready to go now, another boat would carry his passengers and his boat would not make any money.
What was the solution? A temporary fix which could be done in just one day. The captain hoped this temporary fix could last until the journey was over. As we know, it was not good enough.
# 3. How and when did people die because of the disaster?
The people who were on the boat died in five stages:
** (a) Some were killed by the explosion
** (b) Some were killed by hot steam or by fire
** (c) Some jumped into the water to avoid the flames, but they drowned, because they could not swim.
** (d) Some jumped into the water to avoid the flames. They survived for a while, because they could swim, but the water was very cold. They were killed by hypothermia
** (e) Some survived for a while, but they were burned by the fire or injured by the explosion and they were too weak to survive. They died because of their injuries after one or two days.
# 4. Who was responsible for overloading the boat? Who was responsible for accepting a temporary fix of the boilers? Who was responsible for sailing with a boat which was not fit for sailing? What happened to them?
There was an official investigation of the case. There were some attempts to discover who were responsible and to charge them with violating the rules of safety.
But these attempts never got anywhere. In the end, no one was held accountable for this disaster.
# 5. What happened to the survivors after the disaster? How did the film-makers manage to find so many descendants of survivors and interview them in the film?
Many soldiers knew each other before they entered the Sultana. They had fought in the same regiments. They had been interned as POWs in the same camp in the South. After the disaster they established associations which held annual meetings to remember the case.
As the years went by, the survivors began die of old age. The last annual meeting was held in Knoxville (Tennessee) in 1930. Only one person showed for the meeting!
The memory of the Sultana began to fade away. But in 1987 Norman Shaw (a lawyer from Tennessee) took an initiative:
He wanted to find out if anybody in the area wanted to get together and remember the case. When the response was positive, he formed the Sultana Association of Descendants and Friends.
This association is still active today. It has a website and holds meetings in different locations. The members of the association do what they can to keep the memory of the case alive.
They say it is important to remember the story of the Sultana: the people who perished as well as the people who survived.
The soldiers had fought for their country. The soldiers had survived being prisoners of war. But when the war was over and when it was time to go home, the government failed to arrange a safe transport for them.
Many soldiers were killed in the disaster. Surviving veterans were not treated well by the government.
It was difficult for them to get a pension from the government, because they did not always have the proper documentation to claim a pension.
A widow of a soldier who was killed in the disaster could often get a pension, but it was very small and not enough to support the widow.
Greed was the reason why the Sultana was so overloaded with passengers.
Greed was the reason why the Sultana was allowed to sail, even though the boat was not fit for sailing.
The government’s lack of care and concern was the reason why no one was ever held accountable for the disaster.
The descendants of the survivors want to remember the story of the Sultana. Every aspect of the tragic disaster is regarded as relevant.
# 6. Did anything good come out of this disaster?
Perhaps the tragic fate of the Sultana had one positive consequence:
Before 1865, a boiler explosion had been regarded as a sad but normal event. After the Sultana disaster of 1865, things began to change. A boiler on a boat or on a locomotive had to be safe.
Rules and regulations were introduced. Boiler explosions could and should be avoided.
REVIEWS AND RATINGS
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 75 percent which corresponds to 3.8 stars on Amazon.
On Amazon there are at the moment 104 global ratings and 64 global reviews. The average rating is 4.4 stars which correspond to a rating of 88 percent.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. But if you ask me, they are not good enough.
The Sultana disaster is an important chapter of US history. The story deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. As stated above, the Sultana Association of Descendants and Friends was formed by Norman Shaw in 1987. Visit the website of the association for more information.
PS # 2. The Sultana Disaster Museum opened in Marion (Arkansas) in 2015. Visit the website of the museum for more information.
REFERENCES
** Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors: History of a Disaster by Chester Dawson Berry (first published in 1892) (an expanded and annotated edition was published in 2017)
** The Sultana Tragedy: America’s Greatest Maritime Disaster by Jerry O. Potter (1992) (the author appears in the film)
** Disaster on the Mississippi: The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865 by Gene Salecker (1996) (the author appears in the film)
** Sultana: Surviving the Civil War, Prison, and the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History by Alan Hoffman (Hardcover 2009) (Paperback 2010)
Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home by Sally M. Walker (2017) (this volume is written for young readers)
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The Sultana
Shortly before the disaster of 27 April 1865
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This drawing shows the Sultana on fire
27 April 1865
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A historical marker about the Sultana disaster
Erected in Marion (Arkansas) in April 2000
(There are other historical markers in other locations)
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