by David Markland on June 20, 2006
Pam Newhouse told me recently that Rev. Chester Berry’s grave is missing headstone or other marker…
Chester Berry, 20th Michigan Infantry, captured at Cold Harbor (June 2 1864), interred in Andersonville Prison, survivor of the Sultana disaster, and author of “Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors” (1892), died in New Jersey on November 22, 1926 of a cerebral hemorrhage. He died at the Arthur Pitney Comfort Home in East Orange, NJ and was buried two days later in Glendale Cemetery in nearby Bloomfield, NJ. Although his burial plot is listed on cemetery records, there is no gravestone or marker of any kind. Surely something could and should be done about that. (He was living with his son Paul in Theodore, Alabama in 1924, so it looks as if he died alone in New Jersey. A mystery!)
- Pam Newhouse, gr gr granddaughter of Pvt. Adam Schneider, 183rd Ohio Infantry; died on the Sultana
by David Markland on May 9, 2006
Sultana documentarian Mike Marshall’s son Bradley recently created a searchable database of Sultana passengers that can be found at the River Rock Entertainment site. The database, that Bradley made as his final, capstone project before graduating, is searchable by first and last name, as well as unit and fate (lived or died).
The data was supplied by Jack Lundquist, who has been researching, updating, and correcting the Sultana rolls for years.
Check out the database by clicking here.
*As of January 2009 this database appears to be offline.
by David Markland on April 27, 2006
by David Markland on April 27, 2006
Did anyone else know that there was a large Sultana monument in Alliance, OH? Neither did I… and neither did veteran and history buff Jim Peters, who, up until he stumbled across the Alliance monument, had never even heard of the Sultana…
Peters didn’t learn of it until three years ago when he found a weather-beaten monument at Alliance City Cemetery. It’s engraved with the names of local men who died aboard the ship. The Alliance resident has been working since to make sure the names aren’t forgotten…
Peters first found the 12-foot-tall Sultana memorial while putting up memorial flags at the cemetery during Memorial Day. Years of wear has made the stone’s engraving nearly illegible, though Peters could read some of the words.
“Here’s the name Sultana, and I’m almost thinking Turkey and Constantinople,” Peters said. “I figured it was a ship because it also said ‘steamer,’ but I didn’t know much of anything about it … . I still don’t.”
Family concerns sidetracked Peters’ research for a while, and what information he has found tells him little about the memorial.
He doesn’t know who erected it or when. Its location on the Alliance cemetery plot map is listed as “GAR,” which stands for the Grand Army Republic, one of the first veteran organizations.
Peters hasn’t been able to identify the names engraved in stone, but knows that the men belonged to Company F of the 115th Ohio Voluntary Infantry, which included residents of Stark, Columbiana and Portage counties. He also found that the regiment was mustered in Massillon in the fall of 1862, and the soldiers likely were captured guarding railroads in Tennessee…
The article from the Canton Rep entitled, “Alliance man wants to restore monument to Sultana” (link no longer works, 3/15/09) also goes on to describe how Mr. Peters is working on the renovations and how he is seeking out local help.
If anyone has photos of this marker or additional info Mr. Peters efforts, please leave a message in the comments.
by David Markland on April 20, 2006
Movie star Chuck Norris, also known from TV as Walker: Texas Ranger, plus numerous martial arts action films, recently wrote his The Justice Riders, a historical drama where the Sultana is featured prominently in the story.
From Amazon.com:
General William T. Sherman commissions Ezra Justice to form a secret band of cavaliers who will help end the war between North and South, and Justice complies with a pro-Union posse of diverse multinationals second to none in their fighting abilities. From dusty canyon shootouts against Confederates to the horrors faced aboard the doomed Sultana steamship, these dynamic men shine as good-hearted heroes who need each other just as much as so many others need them.
I haven’t had the chance to read the full book to know how accurate its overall depiction of events are, but I can only hope it makes people more aware of the actual event, and inspires a number of Chuck’s fans to read more about the Sultana.
If anyone here has read the book or would like to comment, please click “leave a comment” below.
by David Markland on April 7, 2006
Some people may be surprised to learn that there have been a couple recordings of songs about the Sultana tragedy. The folk group Back Porch Majority wrote and performed “The Great Sultana” on their “Riverboat Days” album released in 1965 (the 100th anniversary of the disaster).
More recently, in 2003, Missouri native Joseph Huck recorded and released “Sultana 1865″, an album of Civil War themed music “encompassing major war conflicts from Manassas to Gettysburg and beyond.”
I recently contacted Mr. Huck to discuss the title track of his album, and here’s what he said:
My interest in the Sultana disaster was a by
product of my general interest in the Civil War. We
have an old time string band that has played for years
at civil war reenactments and after playing period
music I was looking for a civil war era event that I
could write an original song about. I accidentally
stumbled across the story of the Sultana and after
doing research I was taken by the magnitude of the
disaster of which so little is known. So in my meager
way I wrote the song about the Sultana and made it the
highlight in my original music album.
You can listen to the song by going to his CD Baby site where you can also hear the other songs from his album and even order a copy for yourself.
(on a side note, fellow Sultana descendant Kari Newhouse has her most recent album for sale on the same site… click here for more info)
by David Markland on April 7, 2006
Sultana descendant Joyce Underwood (Jesse E. Grass) wrote to me pointing out another Sultana song available for listening online along with accompanying lyrics
“Sultana” by Charley Sandage at Arkansas Stories.
The Arkanas Stories site also has a teacher’s guide with suggestions on how to incorporate the story of the Sultana into different curriculums from kindergarten to the 8th grades.
by David Markland on April 5, 2006
“Unmarked American gold-filled tau-form handle with all over floral chasing and inscribed oval panel on left side that reads Presented/by Sultana Survivors/Toledo, O. April 27th/1892, mounted on an ebonized tapered hardwood shaft with 1.7″ nickel and steel ferrule.” -Cowan’s Auction
I’d heard a rumor at a reunion a few years ago that at least one descendent had a cane that was made for a Sultana survivor, or in honor of one. This one I found on a website for Cowan’s Auctions, and was reportedly sold in December of 2004 for $720.
Does anyone else know of other canes that are out there? At the very least, it would be fascinating to hear the stories of how these were passed along through the generations. As for this cane… I wonder if its being held in a private collection, or is available for public view?
by David Markland on March 15, 2005
Erected July 4, 1912. The names of over 365 Tennessee soldiers who were part of the disaster are chiseled into this marble monument along with a depiction of a riverboat and the inscription:
In memory of the men who were on the Sultana, that was destroyed April 27, 1865 by explosion on the Mississippi near Memphis Tennessee.
Additional names of Sultana victims have been added in recent years.
This is also the site of where most of the reunions of the Sultana descendants and friends have been held.
Mount Olive Baptist Church and Cemetery, Maryville Pike, Knoxville, TN.
photo courtesy Gene Shields
by David Markland on March 15, 2005
Part of the city’s National Steamboat Monument, this Sultana plaque is engraved in metal and shows a photo of the ship’s final and most famous photograph (the original copy of this photo is supposedly in the local library). The Sultana, by the way, was built only a few blocks away.
Mehring Way near Broadway, Cincinnati, OH
More about the National Steamboat Monument at the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Full text of plaque:
Sidewheel Packet
SULTANA
Built at Cincinnati, OH in 1863. On April 27, 1865, the SULTANA exploded on the Mississippi River above Memphis, Tennessee with over 2,200 people on board, the majority of which were Union soldiers on their way home at the close of the Civil War. Legally registered to carry only 376 people, the boat was terribly overloaded. More than 1,700 people died in the tragedy, making it the worst marine disaster in U.S. history.
STEAMBOAT HALL OF FAME DONOR
Joseph S. Stern, Jr.
