Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors (Voices Of The Civil War) [Hardcover]

Mr. Chester D. Berry (Editor), Dr. David Madden (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Madden is Donald and Velvia Crumbley Professor of Creative Writing and founding director of the United States Civil War Center at Louisiana State University. He is the author of several novels, including the Civil War novel Sharpshooter (1996), Cassandra Singing (1999), and has edited Beyond the Battlefield: The Ordinary Life and Extraordinary Times of the Civil War Soldier (2000), Remembering James Agee (1977), Classics of Civil War Fiction (1991), and other books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 1 edition (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572333723
• ISBN-13: 978-1572333727
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reprint of a Classic, Plus, March 8, 2007

By 

J. C. Tumblin OD (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors (Voices Of The Civil War) (Hardcover)

Dr. David Madden founded the Civil War website at LSU and is a real student of the war. This book gives accounts by the survivors of the largest maritime disaster in our nation's history--more lives lost than on the Titanic. The disaster occurred so close to the Lincoln Assassination and Booth Chase and so near the end of the Civil War that it has been largely lost to history.

Many of the soldiers were former prisoners of war at Andersonville (GA) and Cahaba (AL) and were weakened from near starvation. My ancestor was a private in the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry (USA) that had been captured by Gen. N.B. Forrest at Sulphur Springs Trestle, Alabama (near Athens, AL). He survived the disaster, floated to shore at Memphis (the sinking was eight miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi at the Hens and Chickens Islands), walked home to Monroe County (south of Knoxville) and fathered six children, my grandmother included.

Dr. Madden's introduction to the book is worth the entire cost, as he covers the essentials admirably.

Books by Jerry Potter and Gene Salecker give more details on the disaster, the packet boat itself and the trial attempting to assess the responsibility for vast overcrowding, but these first person accounts are priceless.

The annual reunion of the Sultana Descendents will be held in Athens, Alabama on April 13-14, 2007 with Dr. Madden present and speaking.

J.C. Tumblin, Past-President

Knoxville Civil War Roundtable