Remember the Sultana

2018 • 95 minutes

About this movie

They had survived the American Civil War, the deadliest war in US history. They had survived the brutal conditions of the POW camps at Andersonville and Cahaba. Many were wounded or ill. But finally, they were going home. Over 2000 Union solders, passengers and crew were crammed aboard the steamboat Sultana, licensed to carry only 376 passengers. Graft, greed, overcrowding, a poorly maintained boat, and the Mississippi River swollen with spring snow-melt conspired together to create a disaster. On April 27, 1865, the boat’s boilers exploded, causing the worst maritime disaster in US history. Narrated and executive produced by actor Sean Astin, and boasting a top-notch cast of voice over actors, this feature-length documentary features interviews with preeminent Sultana historians Jerry O. Potter and Gene Salecker, as well as real-life descendants of those who perished and the few soldiers who survived that fateful trip home. It’s time to Remember the Sultana.