Side A: Soldiers from Company F of the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry died in the explosion of the steamboat Sultana seven miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865. The Sultana reportedly carried more than 2,400 passengers–six times its capacity of 376. The vast majority were Union soldiers recently freed from Southern prisons at the end of the Civil War. Approximately 1,800 passengers and crew died in what is considered the worst maritime disaster in American history. Company F was organized in Stark, Columbiana, and Portage Counties and was mustered into service at Camp Massillon in the fall of 1862. This marker is a memorial to the soldiers of Company F who died as a result of the Sultana tragedy and other war-related causes.
Side B: This marker preserves the names carved in stone on the Civil War memorial adjacent. South elevation: “Erected in Memory of the Deceased of Co. F. 115th O.V.I. by the Company and Friends. 1865.” North elevation: “Death caused by Explosion of Steamship Sultana on April 27, 1865: Sgt. Thomas Rue, Sgt. W.H.H. Smith, Corp. Benjamin Crew, Corp. Charles W. Deitrick, Pvt. Adam H. Hendrick, Pvt. Alex Laughtener, Pvt. Robert W. Roath, Pvt. Thomas Spencer.” West elevation: “Died of Disease: Privates Adam Bower, Preston Jackson, Wilson Hamlin, William Carter, Francis L. Phelps, Samuel Rossell, George Johnson. Teamster Benj. F. Spees.” East elevation: Died Prisoners of War: Pvt. George Carver, Pvt. Luther T. Swartz. Died Paroled Prisoners of War: Pvt. Alva J. Hamlin, Pvt. Lewis K. White. Died of Wounds: Corp. John D. Gray. Killed in Action: Pvt. George W. Ross.
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