Ss Sultana
SS SULTANA
Boiler, or bomb, the Sultana sank on April 27, eighteen sixty five
Taking down with her, a good rounded off number of 1,800 lives
Carrying Union soldiers, who were ex-prisoners of war, up north
From Vicksburg heading high up the Mississippi river, it set forth
The weather was not so good as the Mississippi river was flooded
So the Mississippi river waters was deep, cold, dark, and mudded
A boat only meant to carry 376 passengers, its captain, and crew
Now carrying 2,137 persons, where anxiety to its load, as be due
There; were two other boats in dock that day, but; sailed, empty
Had both boats been used, the space would have been be plenty
Worse to come is the tale of Reuben Hatch, and, Captain J Mason
What was going through their minds, to the job they were facing
Capt. James Mason was way more than just a little bit complacent
As knowing of a cracked boiler, had the repair job on it, hastened
Protests was given, but; chief engineer Wintringer chose to ignore
Capt. George Williams there as, ushers the ex-prisoners on board
The weight of so many men, caused deck floor boards as to bend
Beams were then hastily erected to take this so overbearing trend
It was said the boiler blew, taking out the 2 others, on either side
In that one blast; it is said, a total of a few hundred instantly died
And with it the pilot house, the captain of the boat was now gone
As the steam shot up they all would have been cooked like prawns
Then the two stacks then fell, taking along, a whole host of others
Men now as already ill, tired or injured from the war, were brothers
Hundreds upon hundreds jumped into the water, or left to be fried
As none swimmers; clung together, because of this, in groups died
Even, before the day was over, investigation of the sinking started
With un-hidden facts that were disgracefully hid, being disregarded
Where the facts of Reuben Hatch, were to say more than a bit odd
Because from 1861 really shouldn’t have been round to do any job
But; his brother Ozias Hatch who had the links to President Lincoln
And this link, was no other than as corrupted, and was left stinking
Hatch was man who would sell his soul, if it turns out to make cash
Who quickly retired to save himself from taking any of the backlash
This history is forgotten, or buried, did anyone out there really care
That out of the 2,138 passengers aboard, only 500 were as spared
And maybe more so died, as stowaways upon the Sultana were rife
So we can never really know how many unknowns also lost their life
Was it an accident, incompetence, or worse still, of, a deliberate act
All was unhealthy pointing to a faulty steam boiler that had cracked
As belief was held, it was the confederates that blew up the Sultana
But; folk would say this was just pure speculation, and propaganda
It beat the Titanic sinking, taking away, one thousand, five hundred
But; here we have 1,800 with any stowaways being as unnumbered
Indiana Shaw . . .
"Reuben Hatch; helped with Abraham Lincoln rise to presidency, Lincoln
owed Rueben, in 1861 when Reuben was court Martialed it was Lincoln
who got him off, not only that, got him promoted to Lt. Col, if Reuben
had not been around as such, this disaster may not have happened, I
say may not, as undoubtly some other unscrupulous soul would have
filled that gap, and the event in 1865 would still have taken place" . . . : /
Copyright © Indiana Shaw | Year Posted 2020
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