Sabotage of the Sultana...
Sultana-related books:
A hyperlink on a title will take you to Amazon.com where copies may be purchased.
Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors
By
Rev. Chester D. Berry, 1892
Reprint available from John Lundquist (JackL314@aol.com)
Berry was one of the survivors of the disaster. His book is a compilation of more than 100 stories collected from survivors during the 1880’s. Their tales are harrowing and tragic. The dedication is “TO THE SURVIVORS OF THE GREATEST MARINE DISASTER ON RECORD, AND TO THE FRIENDS OF THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THAT AWFUL SCENE OF HORROR, IS THIS LITTLE VOLUME RESPECTULLY DEDICATED.”
By
Jerry O. Potter, Pelican Books, 1992
Considered by most one of the best books on the subject. It was being referred to this book by our friend Jane Singer that lead to the North & South article. Potter does not believe that sabotage was the likely cause of the explosion, but does talk about the Memphis article, which he called the “strongest support for the sabotage theory.”
by
Gene Eric Salecker, Naval Institute Press, 1996
Most people consider Gene Salecker the best informed source on the Sultana. Potter says of Salecker in his own book that, “Without Gene’s help, the writing of this book would have been difficult if not impossible.” Salecker also does not believe in the sabotage theory, and did not mention the Memphis article in his text. He does list it in his sources. He was kind enough to respond to emails from us on the subject with respect, and pointed us to Samuel Raudebaugh’s story in Chester Berry’s book.
by
William A. Tidwell, James O. Hall, and David Winfred Gaddy, University Press of Mississippi, 1988
The main focus of this book is an examination of the Confederate authorities complicity in the Lincoln assassination. However, it also contains an excellent chapter on the Tucker group of boat-burners which even mentions Robert “Loudon”. It does not, however, tie either to the Sultana. This book sparked the epiphany that the shadowy “Judge Tucker” of the Official Records and J. W. “Deacon” Tucker were really the same man. James O. Hall read the first draft of “Sultana – A Case for Sabotage” and provided encouragement and advice.
by
William A. Tidwell
Something of a sequel to “Come Retribution”, Tidwell talks about the history of the Courtenay torpedo and opines that the Sultana explosion would fit a Courtenay torpedo quite well. Mentions the Memphis article with “Streeter” and “Lowden”. Unfortunately, he does not seem to recognize that the “Loudon” of his earlier Come Retribution and the “Lowden” of April ’65 were in fact the same man.
General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the
West
by
Albert Castel, Louisiana State University Press, 1968
Castel is one of the most respected historians on the War in the West, and this book is one of the best on Price and the Missouri Confederates. He does not seem to realize fully the shadowy side of Joseph W. Tucker’s activities during the war, but is very useful for getting a sense of Tucker’s political role as a confidant of Claiborne F. Jackson and Sterling Price.
©2001 G. E. Rule
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