Sultana.

This is coolbert:

ON THIS DATE IN THE YEAR 1865:

"The steamboat Sultana was a Mississippi River paddlewheeler destroyed in an explosion on 27 April 1865, resulting in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. An estimated 1,700 of the Sultana's 2,400 passengers were killed when one of the overcrowded ship's four boilers exploded and the Sultana sank not far from Memphis, Tennessee."

"Most of these new passengers were Union soldiers (mostly from Ohio) just released from Confederate prison camps such as Cahawba and Andersonville."

"Newspaper accounts indicate that the people of Memphis took the victims of the disaster to heart despite the fact that they had until recently been enemies."

Union soldiers, recently released from a Confederate POW camps, on their way home, met unexpected death.

[numbers not clear, but in excess of 1,000 former POW's died that day.]

This maritime disaster is the worst in U.S. history. More dead than even the Titanic.

That POW's die after hostilities cease is NOT unheard of. I recall seeing a program on television about Canadian soldiers during World War Two [WW2] that were prisoners of the Japanese. Had been part of the British force defending Hong Kong on 7 December. Suffered terribly during their imprisonment and ended the war on the island of Formosa. B-29 bombers dropped one ton pallets of relief supplies to the survivors via parachute. The newly freed Canadians rushed out to grab the pallets as they descended and were crushed and KILLED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE PLUMMETING OBJECTS.

A bad way to end the war after having survived much misery and torment!!

coolbert.