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Civil War Sabotage? 1x55

Civil War Sabotage? investigates the sinking of the SS Sultana, one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history. When it mysteriously exploded on April 27, 1865, the Mississippi steamboat was packed with Union soldiers. The war had ended that month and at every stop more men clamored to board the homeward-bound ship, which blew up mid-river leaving 1,500 dead, officially. Unofficially the count may have been far higher. However, the story of the sinking quickly vanished from the newspapers. What really sank the Sultana? Was it Confederate sabotage? Securing the original investigative report and its archives allows a team of researchers to forensically examine and scientifically test theories of the boilers’ failure. The team also investigates the stories of a Confederate agent and spy who burned Union ships on the Mississippi and was an expert in using coal torpedoes, and a former Union inspector’s deathbed revelation.