"One of the grimmest disasters to befall any American steamer, on fresh water or salt, was the night explosion of the Mississippi River steamboat Sultana, April 27, 1865. Over 1,500 lives were lost. A packet of the larger class, less than three years old, she had probably been driven hard during the Civil War, and her boilers were known to be weak. She was legally certified to carry 376 persons, including crew. Yet, on April 25, the army officer at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in charge of transporting Union soldiers home from Confederate prisons, ordered almost 1,900 men aboard. Two nights later, having called at Helena and Memphis, the Sultana blew up and burned. This lithograph depicts the scene that followed. Appalling as it was, the disaster hardly made headlines. Newspapers, filled with Lee's surrender, Lincoln's assassination, and the pursuit of Booth, had little space for a steamboat accident in the west."

HARPER'S WEEKLY, MAY 20, 1865

Card #19. Description on back. Measures approximately 5-3/4 x 3-1/2 inches.

Gently bumped corner tips and slight edge wear. Faint moisture stain at center of top edge.