Walker, Sally M. Sinking the Sultana.

Walker, Sally M.  Sinking the Sultana. Candlewick Press  2017  196p

$24.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7755-8  ms/hs   Nonfiction  VG-BN

As the Civil War ground to an end, Confederate prisoner-of-war camps released thousands of men who were undernourished and had no way to get home. The government arranged to pay a set passage fee to steamboat companies for the upstream voyage. The steamboat captains were a greedy lot and tried to maximize their passenger counts.

The Sultana was one of the best of the lot. But improperly repaired boilers and a captain who loaded 2,400 soldiers on board a steamboat with a capacity of 376 led to one of the worst maritime disasters in American History.

I have read several Civil War books this year. I must say that I really enjoyed Walker’s narrative of the terror-filled night, the various situations leading up to the disaster, and the dismal rescue efforts afterward.


The additional materials at the back of the book will make this an excellent resource for high-school libraries. They include an epilogue, an author’s note, a glossary, source notes broken down by chapter, a bibliography, and an index.



This book will make an excellent addition to any middle-school or high-school library.

Summary: A riveting and informative narrative about a historical
disaster at the end of the Civil War, this is a story of imprisonment,
greed, and a doomed journey home for Union soldiers. Enthusiasts of
the Titanic tragedy will devour this story.

Civil War                                         --Linda McNeil