My Sultana Connections

The Compiling of the Sultana Passenger List.

The compiling of the last passenger list of the steamship Sultana began immediately after the tragic explosion of April 27, 1865. One of the primary sources of the list are the Memphis and St. Louis newspapers of the time (The Sultana Tragedy, Jerry O. Potter, pg 195).

In 1892, Chester D. Berry, a survivor of the Sultana, wrote Loss of the Sultana and Reminiscences of Survivors which in Potter's words, "..contained an incomplete list." Gene Salecker is to be credited for his years of research in compiling the names of the soldiers on the Sultana. That list was included in Disaster on the Mississippi : The Sultana Explosion, April 27, 1865, written by Salecker and published in 1996. Potter clearly acknowledges his debt to Salecker, and combined his own research with Gene's to produce the list that appears in the Appendix of The Sultana Tragedy published in 1997.

My Connection to the Sultana History.
My interest in the Sultana is two fold, involving family history and the history of the area of Hillsdale Co., Michigan where I grew up, Wright Twp. near the town of Waldron.

Wesley Lee, my great-great-great uncle on my father's mother's side, enlisted Aug. 19, 1862 in Co. A of the 102nd Ohio Vol. Infantry. Uncle Wesley was captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama on Sept. 24, 1864. He was held at Andersonville until the end of the war. He was on the Sultana when it blew up on April 27, 1865 just north of Memphis. Uncle Wesley was one of the first survivors to make it to shore that terrible night. His account of that tragic experience is told in Chester Berry's 1892 book, Loss of the Sultana, and Reminiscences of Survivors. Wesley Lee finally made it home to Holmes Co., Ohio. He did marry and he and his bride settled in Davisess County, Missouri.

Zebulon Gray, my Great-Great Uncle on my Father's mother's side, enlisted August 1884, in the 18th Michigan V.I. and was in Co. G. The Michigan 18th Reg't was recruited primarily from Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe Counties. Family records indicate Zebulon was with that part of the 18th Reg't captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama. According to the family story, Uncle Zeb was detained at Macon, and then at Andersonville until the end of the war. His Andersonville imprisonment is confirmed by his pension records. After their release at the end of the war, a number of the 18th Reg't POW's were on the Sultana when it blew up near Memphis, TN on April 27, 1865. Don Harvey has identified 60 men from the MI 18th Reg't that were killed in that explosion. Uncle Zeb's pension records indicate he was not on the Sultana, but he would have known comrades who were. He came home and raised a family.

Phyllis Rickard, an old neighbor of mine from the Waldron, Michigan area, found in her research references to three men of the 18th MI Reg't. from what was then known as South Wright, but is now Waldron, who were on the Sultana and survived; Christian W. Abbaduska, Nathaniel Fogelsong, and Samuel Stubberfield.

At the time Phyllis and I were growing up, there were still families in that area with those last names. All three of these men came back home, and all three are buried in the Waldron Cemetery. A perusal of the rosters of the 18th MI Reg't will turn up a number of familiar last names for those whose roots go back that corner of Hillsdale Co., MI.

A memorial to the men from Michigan who died on the Sultana was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2001. The memorial is located on the Northeast corner of the County Courthouse square in Hillsdale, Michigan. I hope to have pictures of the memorial up loaded to this page in the near future.


Grave of Christian Abbaduska, MI 18th Inf, Co. F; Waldron Cemetery, Waldron, Michigan



Grave of Samuel Stubberfield, 18th MI Inf, Co. F; Waldron Cemetery, Waldron, Michigan



Grave of Nathaniel Foglesong, MI 18th Inf, Co. A; Waldron Cemetery, Waldron, Michigan

Our Family Civil War Soldiers

My great-grandfather, George Debolt Newcomer, served in several Ohio Infantry units.

• 85th Ohio Infantry, Co. G: 3 month enlistment, transferred to the 87th. (June, 1862)

  
  

• 87th Ohio Infantry, Co. D: (June, 1862 - October, 1862)
  
  • Battle of Harper's Ferry


• 86th Ohio Infantry, Co. H: 6 month enlistment. (June, 1863 - February, 1864)
  
  • Buffington Island, Ohio - John Morgan's raid
  • Salineville, Ohio - John Morgan's Raid
    
    • A Brief Biography of Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, C.S.A.
  • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park: Park information only.
    
  
  
• 182nd Ohio Infantry, Co. B: 1 year enlistment. (August, 1864 - July, 1865) George D. Newcomer was promoted to Sergeant, Oct. 27, 1864, and to 1st Sergeant, May 4,1865.
  
  • Battle of Nashville, TN: Sherman called this battle the most decisive in the whole Civil War; the only one where an army was beaten so badly, it ceased to exist as an army.

My great-great-grandfather, Charles Bavin served a 3 month enlistment with the 14th Ohio Infantry,Co. E (April - August, 1861). This unit was in the battle at what is now Philippi, West Virginia. This was the first major land battles of the Civil War. The 14th OVI was involved in other battle including Corricks Ford. After the 3 month enlistment was up, the unit was again organized for a 3 year enlistment, but Charles, along with most of his comrades from the old unit, had enough of the war.

Battle of Corricks Ford, July 13, 1861. (Other sources on this battle call it "Carrick's Ford".) The 14th O.V.I. volleys against the elevated position of the 23rd Virginia while the 7th Indiana conducts a flanking movement. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (Image courtesy of 14th OVI Re-enactment Group.)

Uncles and Cousins in The Civil War

• Benson Gray, (Great-Great Uncle on Father's mother's side.)enlisted Dec. 24, 1862 in the 7th Michigan Cavalry; Co. F; (3 year enlistment). This unit was part of the Michigan Brigade that eventually was under the command of George A. Custer. The Michigan 7th Cavalry was involved in the operations around Gettysburg and afterwards. It was at this time, July 1883, that family records say Benson was wounded at the battle of Culpepper, and was discharged Jan. 23, 1864. In October 1864, Benson enlisted in the 18th Michigan V.I. for 1 year, and served until his discharge on June 26, 1865. (See notes below on Benson's brother, Zebulon for information on the 18th MI V.I.) Benson Gray died in Oct. 1920, and his grave is in the Woodland Cemetery in Jackson, Michigan.



• Zebulon Gray, (Great-Great Uncle on Father's mother's side, and brother to Benson.) enlisted August 1884, in the 18th Michigan V.I. and was in Co. G. The Michigan 18th Reg't was recruited primarily from Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe Counties. Family records indicate Zebulon was with that part of the 18th Reg't captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama. According to the family story, part of which has been confirmed from National Archive records, Uncle Zeb was detained at Macon, and then at Andersonville until the end of the war. After their release at the end of the war, some of the 18th Reg't POW's were on the Sultana when it blew up near Memphis, TN on April 27, 1865. Don Harvey has identified 60 men from the MI 18th Reg't that were killed in that explosion. Uncle Zebulon was not on the Sultana. He did come home and raised a family. Zebulon Gray died in May, 1927, and his grave is in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  
  
• Wesley Lee, (great-great-great uncle on my father's mother's side) Enlisted Aug. 19, 1862 in Co. A of the 102nd Ohio Vol. Infantry. Uncle Wesley was also captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama on Sept. 24, 1864. He was held at Andersonville until the end of the war. Wesley was not as fortunate as Uncle Zeb Gray. He was on the Sultana when it blew up on April 27, 1865 just north of Memphis. Uncle Wesley was one of the first surviviors to make it to shore that terible night. His account of that tragic experiance is told in Chester Berry's 1892 book, Loss of the Sultana, and Reminiscenes of Survivors. Wesley Lee finally made it home to Holmes Co., Ohio. He did marry and he and his bride settled in Davisess County, Missouri.




• Christopher Britton and his brother, William B. Britton were my great-great Uncles on my mother's side. Born in Vermont, they came with their family to Michigan in 1855. At the start of the war, both brothers enlisted in the 1st Michigan Light Artillery, Battery G known as "Lamphere's Battery". William was injured by artillery on May 19, 1863, during the operations around Vicksburg, . Christopher was wounded in the thigh during the fighting at Pt. Gibson. Both returned home to Michigan. William settled on the family farm in Ransom Twp., Hillsdale Co., Michigan. He is buried in the Evergreen (Burt) Cemetery in Ransom Twp.
  
  Christopher moved up to Newago Co., Michigan. We think his unmarked grave is in the Whipple Cemetery in Home Twp., Newago Co., and that has been confirmed by the copy we have of his death certificate.



• Christopher & William had a younger brother, Quincy Britton. Quincy, born in 1848, could not have been much more then 13 or 14 when he enlisted in Co. D of the Michigan 11th Cavalry. He apparently lied about his age. After the war, Quincy became a successful businessman in Toledo, Ohio. His grave is in the Maplewood Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. If you are a descendant of Quincy Britton,we very much would like to hear from you.

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Some WWW Civil War Resources

• Civil War Battles by State (National Park Service)
• Michigan in the Civil War: Don Harvey is doing an outstanding job on these pages. Includes Regimental Rosters!!
• Ohio in the Civil War: Thanks to Larry Stevens for these excellent pages on the Ohio Regiments.