Explosion of the Steamboat Saluda

by William G. Hartley

A gripping saga of tragedy and compassion involving perhaps the worst steamboat disaster in Missouri River navigation history.

89 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably the only contemporary writing about an 1852 steamboat disaster, which at the time, was all too common. The authors present all the evidence their research discovered but the writing is a bit rough and editing apparently non-existent.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this tragic event in Missouri and mormon history. A steamboat full of British LDS converts explodes as it heads up the Mississippi River to deposit converts for their westward trek. Dozens are killed. (An accurate counting was impossible.) As tragic as this was, it was heartwarming to read of the people of Lexington, Missouri who called a halt to their daily lives to aid, comfort, house and in too-many cases, bury the victims. Missourians at this time in history did not have much of a track record of helping mormons. But in this case, they sacrificed much to assist the victims of this tragic disaster. Although the book was well-researched, I gave it two stars simply because it was like reading a text, rather than engaging the reader.