1858 — April 2, Steamer Sultan burns, Mississippi River, near St. Genevieve, MO — 23

— 23 Board of Supervising Inspectors. Appen. 12, 10-25-1858, Treas. Dept. Rpt. p. 271.
–20 passengers
— 3 crew
— 23 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 247.
— 23 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, 435.

Narrative Information

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels: “On the 2d of April last the steamboat Sultan was consumed by fire while near St. Genevieve. By this accident twenty-three lives were lost; twenty of the passengers and three of the crew. Upon investigation of this case it was ascertained that the fire originated in the watchman’s locker, from the use of turpentine in trimming his lamps. Efforts were made by the pilot to land the steamer, but without success. Great consternation and confusion prevailed, to which the loss of life is mainly to be attributed, as there was ample time and means to land all in safety. All those who were saved resorted to the life-floats and other means provided according to law.” (Appendix 12, 10-25-1858. US Treasury Dept. Report on the Finances…, p. 271.)

Way: Sultan. Side-wheel packet, wood hull. Built at McKeesport, PA in 1854; 349 tons; three boilers. “Frequently made Cincinnati-St. Louis trips. En route St. Louis to New Orleans she caught fire above Ste. Genevieve, Mo., Apr. 2, 1858. She was rounded to and tied to a fallen tree with the result that the current pulled the tree out, and she burned in midstream with loss of 23 lives. Capt. Phil C. Hannam was in charge.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…MS River System. 1994, p. 435.)

Sources

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. “Appendix 12,” in United States Treasury Department. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for the Year Ending June 30, 1858 (Senate Executive Document No. 2, 35th Congress, 2d Session). Washington: William A. Harris, Printer, 1858. Digitized by Google. Accessed 10-31-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=XCUSAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=8&size=125

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.