This Day in History: April 27

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 27.

In 1865, the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history occurs in the Mississippi River with the explosion of the Sultana. This happened just after the American Civil War ends and the assassination of 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, meaning that coverage of the event was mostly overshadowed. The Sultana was a steamboat that was carrying released Union POWs back to the northern states. The ship was carrying around 2,100 passengers by the time it left a port in Vicksburg, MS. The legal capacity is 376. The reasoning behind this decision was because the U.S. government was paying steamboat captains around $2.75 per enlisted soldier, and $8 per officers for safe passage to the northern states. There were 1,950 soldiers, 22 guards from the 58th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, combined with around 70 fare-paying passengers and 85 crewmembers. If the Sultana made it to its destination, that being Cairo, Ill., its captain, James Mason, would’ve made $5,538 (or about $11,215 in 2026); that’s minus the alleged kickbacks he was promised from the quartermaster. Those dreams of wealth and luxury came crashing down when the boiler exploded at 2 a.m. on this day, killing many passengers instantly. As the ship went down, those still on board either burned to death or drowned in the frigid waters of the Mississippi. It’s unknown how many had perished on this night, but rough estimates are around 1,164 – Captain Mason being one of them. Around 760 were estimated to have survived.