Walker, Sally M. Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home. Candlewick, 2017. $24.99. 196p. ISBN 978-0-7636-7755-8. Ages 11-15. P8Q8
The sinking of the Titanic has long been held up as one of the biggest disasters because of the number of deaths, but far fewer people know that even more people died in a ship disaster at the end of the Civil War. Eighteen days after Robert E. Lee signed the surrender to end that war, 1,537 people, mostly Union soldier parolees headed home to the North, died from the explosion of a Mississippi River side-wheel steamboat. Walker, noted for her youth book about the World War I ship disaster in Halifax (Nova Scotia), describes the events leading up to the tragedy, the official investigation about it that led to no blame, and vignettes of some of the people on the Sultana. Details come from extensive research, including primary sources, and the photos, maps, and diagrams greatly to the text.
Verdict: This fascinating read shows how bribery, ignorance, and disregard led to a sad finish to the travesty of the Civil War.
November 2017 review by Nel Ward.
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