The March, 2009 meeting of the Clarksville Civil War Roundtable will be held Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 7 PM in the cafe of Borders Books store in Governor's Square Mall. This is located on Wilma Rudolph Highway (US 79) just south of Exit 4 off I-24 in Clarksville, TN. The meeting is always open to interested members of the public and you do not need to be an expert to attend!. We meet the Third Wednesday of each month.

OUR SPEAKER AND TOPIC:

Norman Shaw - Knoxville, TN. Civil War Roundtable

"The Sultana - America's Greatest Maritime Disaster and Civil War Tragedy"

Most people, even those interested in Civil War history, are unaware that the greatest maritime disaster in American history was the explosion of the steamer "Sultana" on April 27, 1865, on the Mississippi River with the loss of 1,800 souls. This vessel was transporting home recently released Union POWs from the infamous Confederate pens at Andersonville, GA, and Cahaba, AL. Through greed, human error, and bad fortune, about 2,100 soldiers and nearly 200 passengers and crew faced death by explosion, fire, or drowning when the ship's boilers blew up at 2:00 a. m. about seven miles above Memphis, TN.

Our speaker, Norman Shaw, will describe the last journey of the Sultana and the factors that led to the tragedy. Included will be the story of the Union 3rd Tenn. Cavalry, comprised of men from the Knoxville area, which had aboard a remnant of 360 survivors from the war and Cahaba. Mr. Shaw's talk will conclude with a brief account of the work of the Sultana Association over the last twenty years.

Norman Shaw's study of the American Civil War started in earnest following his graduation from law school and taking a position as a title attorney in Knoxville, TN, in 1981 where he works and resides today. In 1983, Mr. Shaw founded the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable and later became its first president. He continues to be active in the KCWRT and is currently its Program Chairman.

In 1987, Mr. Shaw started the Sultana Association with a current national membership of about 150 folks which meets annually in Knoxville or other cities connected with the "Sultana" story. He worked with the "Blue and Gray" magazine to publish a "Sultana" issue which eventually came out in August of 1990. Mr. Shaw is a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust and the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association.

Hope to see you at our meeting.

Greg Biggs
Clarksville CWRT