On April 27th, 1865, the Sultana, a 260 foot-long wooden steamboat, exploded into flames and sank on the Mississippi River. While the ship was only designed to hold 376 people, more than 2,000 passengers, predominantly made up of Union soldiers returning home from Confederate prisons, were crowded on board under the command of Captain James Cass Mason. In addition to the ship being overloaded, the boiler was leaking and showing signs of trouble. In today's episode, we explore how a preventable tragedy driven by greed led to the deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history.

"Crimes of the Centuries" is a podcast from the Obsessed Network exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history.

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