One of the he saddest things about the POWS was what happened to hundreds and hundreds of Union POWS released from southern prisons at the end of the war. They were booked onto a Mississippi River steamboat named the "Sultana" in Vicksbuirg in April 1865. There were close to 2,500 ex-POWS crammed onto the 270+ foot-long sidewheeler. Her tired and badly maintained boilers were also hastily patched.
Two miles north of Memphis the "Sultana" exploded in a fireball and sank, taking an estimated 2,200 people with her. This is a death toll way in excess of the "Titanic" 47 years later.
It received little coverage then due to the Lincoln Assassination, and today is almost forgotten.
supposedly, that revised number is based on a report of the "gangplank" list, rather than the "official passenger list".
the loss of the Sultana at EITHER figure was a HORROR STORY of major magnitude.
free dixie,sw
What a tragedy!