Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

I just finished listening to a very interesting interview on NPR with author
Allen Hoffman and his new book; 'Surviving the Civil war and the greatest maritime tragedy in American history-The Sultana'.
From the account I have previously read pertaining to the Sultana, the hastily applied patch to the boiler in Vicksburg seemed to be the prime suspect. In addition, the author of the previous account I've read may not have cross-referenced accounts quite as well as possible as there were many instances of persons believed killed who survived, and vica-versa. From listening to the interview, it now seems there is the likelihood of several factors that contributed to this accident.
This is a book I shall certainly be interested in reading in the future. In addition to the main theme of the war, and the accident, Mr. Hoffman tracks the lives of three of the survivors before, during, and after the war.

Best Regards
Jim

and don't forget the single most deadly shot of the civil war occurred on the white river in the battle of st. charles- bob tyler is including it in his new upcoming book of canoe trails of the civil war (no kidding, st. charles to indian bay
peace, mitch
p.s. yes, that is the same bob tyler of "whitewater of illinois" (no kidding)

The interview I listened to was on the Diane Ream (sp.) show today, although Diane was absent today and her show moderated by another moderator. In the usual progression of Diane and guest involved in discussion, she has call-in, and e-mail comments to address. I was very pleased one of the call-in's today was congressman Vic Snyder, who just happened to be on recess from his immediate duties.In addition to his comments directly about the Sultana and the era of administration, he had more to say as well. Two of the points Congressman Snyder made were applicable to today. One was that, in light of the long tragedy of war for both sides, and people being just weary of the Civil War, and President Lincoln just being assassinated, stories such as the Sultana were sort of just swept under the rug so to speak, people presently much more remember the sinking of the Titanic, but have never heard of the Sultana. The Congressman made a valid point that holds true today , with the advent of 'contractors' and probably little oversight,(my interjection) that the Sultana was overloaded in light of the fact there were two other riverboats that left the port of embarkation empty... I think there must have been some padding of accounts and money-making going on at this time that ultimately may have led in part to this tragedy.

Thanks for the update on the History Commission function C.B. !

Best Regards

Jim

Submitted by Marlo Krueger:
You mentioned the steamboat traffic on the Arkansas, White and Red rivers. Those were the big three; lesser known was the Ouachita and the regular steamer traffic as far north as Camden and some traffic as far up as Arkadelphia. My great uncle Adolph Felsenthal of Camden was known as the father of Ouachita River navigation. He managed to get Congress to allocate $4M to improve navigation on the Ouachita, making the river navigable to Camden year round. One of my uncle's best friends was Captain L. V. Cooley of New Orleans, owner and captain of the steamer America. In 1905 Cooley sailed the America to Camden to pick up 500 bales of cotton only to find the RRs also bidding. Cooley won the bidding war but lost his profit--he agreed to deliver the cotton for $1.00.

Must have been some kind of boat traffic on the Little Red, too, back in the day. The old iron bridge at Judsonia used to rotate in the center to let something pass by on the river.

In college, we used to go out at night and climb on the diagonal support trusses, then hang on while freight trains flew by. Seemed like they were only inches away, and the whole bridge shook - a lot. Cheap thrills.

Thanks Marlo.

I love this stuff! Fascinating! Keep it coming.. I'll be right back after I go save a bundle on my car insurance by clickin that thread. :roll: