Wreck of SS Sultana
United States
- Position
- About 35.2° N, 90.2° W (within about 10 km)
- Sank
- —
- Cause
- boiler explosion
- Depth
- —
Protection status
Location generalised to protect an archaeological site
The position shown is generalised to within about 10 km. The exact position is not published.
Lost in 1865, 161 years ago: underwater cultural heritage.
Legal basis: UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001).
How this was decided: Voydar's protection rules, from the sources we hold, confidence 80%. When in doubt, Voydar generalises the position.
Sultana was a commercial side-wheel steamboat which exploded and sank on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, killing 1,164 people in what remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history. Constructed of wood in 1863 by the John Litherbury Boatyard in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sultana was intended for the lower Mississippi cotton trade. The steamer registered 1,719 tons and normally carried a crew of 85. For two years, she ran a regular route between St. Louis and New Orleans and was frequently commissioned to carry troops during the American Civil War. Although designed with a capacity of only 376 passengers and 85 crewmembers, she was carrying 2,127 when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and caused her to sink near Memphis, Tennessee.
History from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA.
About this wreck
SS Sultana is a recorded shipwreck site. Voydar shows wreck locations alongside live ship traffic, free, from Wikidata and public hydrographic records.
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