Mt. Olive Cemetery

The Sultana Memorial. Story below...

The entrance to Mt. Olive Cemetery.

Rudolph Evans and Martha Evans Clemmer

Brewer Family stone

John (aged 9 years) and Arnold Spears (aged 6 years)

Mamia Currence, 1929 - 1972

Rebecca Ford, 1816 - 1893

John B. Varnell, March 14, 1886 - December 11, 1893

Where is it?

 The cemetery is near the Mt. Olive Baptist Church at 2500 Maryville Pike, Knoxville, TN.

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 35.909018, Longitude: -83.936421 

    

This beautiful monument commemorates the lives lost in the largest maritime disaster in the history of the United States, The Sultana.

On April 27, 1865, just weeks after the end of the Civil War, the Mississippi Riverboat, The Sultana was carrying over 2400 people (more than six times its passenger limit) most of which were recently released Union Soldiers from an Alabama Civil War prison camp.

In the middle of the night, an explosion in the ship's boilers doomed over 1800 people to death. Some managed to swim to shore in Memphis while others clung for hours to trees or wood from the ship's wreckage. 
Many of the passengers were too weakened from injury or from conditions suffered in prison to survive.  
Many drowned or died from hypothermia.  
Bodies were found downriver for months and some were never recovered at all. 

The official cause of the Sultana disaster was determined to be mismanagement of water levels in the boiler along with extreme overcrowding. 
Still, many believe the disaster was no accident and was actually causes by a torpedo disguised as an ordinary lump of coal. 
Supposedly, a man named Robert Louden, a confederate, confessed upon his deathbed to sabotaging the Sultana as a final act of revenge against the union.

Ultimately, despite the enormousness of this disaster, no one was ever held accountable.

Names of those from Tennessee listed on the Sultana Memorial:

Allen D.

Allen F. J.

Anderson J.

Anderson J. F.

Anderson T.

Atchely T.

Atchley P. A.

Atsher W.

Badget B.

Badgett J. D.

Baggart M

Bailey R. M.

Bailey W.

Baker G.

Baker J.

Baker J.

Baker W. A.

Barley W. J.

Barnett A.

Basley W. J.

Battles I.

Battles W. F.

Bayless W.

Bean JKP

Beard J. O.

Bell F. M.

Bennett E. M.

Bishop J.

Bishop W.

Blane M.

Bogert C. H.

Bogert S. F.

Bookout J. L.

Brandon J.

Brock J. A.

Brooks J.

Brown J. H.

Brown M. E.

Brown M. S.

Brown P. H.

Brown W. M.

Brownley J. B.

Burnett H. O.

Burnett W. B

Campbell J. H.

Campbell N. J.

Campbell W.

Cantrell J.

Caree J. R.

Cartney J. S.

Carver W.

Caryhm J. B.

Cash H. W.

Castney W. S.

Chandler B.

Cochoran H.

Collins J. B.

Collins J. H.

Collins J. R.

Conner G. W.

Copeland J.

Copper R.

Cowan S. A.

Cox J.

Crawford H. P.

Crusoc W. R.

Culp A. J.

Cunningham J

Cursick D.

Curtin R. A.

Curtis J. T.

Daily J.

Davenport J. V.

Davis E.

Davis G. C.

Davis J. A.

Davis W.

DeArmond H. H.

DeArmond L.

DeArmond S.

DeArmond T.

Demman T.

Derryburg J. H.

Develin J.

Dickens N.

Dickerson J.

Doherty J. M.

Donaldson D. D.

Douglass J. E.

Draper P.

Dronsyea R.

Dunlap

Dunlap S. P.

Dyer S. A.

Ellenberry J.

Elliott J. W.

Ellison

Elza R. M.

Emenery W.

Estes J.

Evans

Everett J.

Everett W.

Farmer A.

Farmer E.

Farmer E.

Farmer G.

Farmer J. A.

Farmer J. O.

Fergerson W. H.

Fergeson J. H.

Finger A.

Finger F.

Finley B. N.

Firrett W.

Fowler A.

Franelen J. V.

Franklin J. H.

Frazier J.

Fuller J.

Gamble M.

Gibson D.

Giffin H.

Giffin Holston

Golden J.

Graham L.

Gray M. L.

Grier J. A.

Gross A.

Haback G.

Hackney R. L.

Hamilton H. C.

Hamilton J.

Hamilton R. N.

Hancock W. B.

Hand J. F.

Haren W.

Harover J.

Harris W.

Hastshan R.

Haun M.

Hedrick D. A.

Henderson J. C.

Henry J. W.

Hessinger H. P.

Hickman B.

Hickox J. E.

Hicks J. H.

Hill W. S.

Hinchy L. C.

Hines J.

Hines O. A.

Hodge J. W.

Hooper J. H.

Houser H.

Houser L.

Howard T. A.

Howell E.

Hudson P.

Huffager J. W.

Huffaker J. M.

Humbrick H.

Hurry J.

Husted T. D.

Hyden D. A.

Jack M.

Jefferes W.

Jenkins S.

Johnson

Johnson A.

Johnson J. M.

Johnson W.

Johnson W. R.

Jones J. W.

Jones O. C.

Karns S.

Kaywood B. F.

Keeble J. H.

Keeble P. M.

Kennedy G. W.

Kidd Alex

Kidd J.

Kidd J. W.

Kimble J. H.

King G.A.

Kinneman J. M.

Kinneman S.

Kinsha G. S.

Kirkpatrick J. R.

Kirkpatrick W. C.

Knight J.

Knight J. D.

Lackley J. B

Lansom G. M.

Lapl J. H.

Leak A

Leak W.

Lee E.

Lee J.

Leek J.

Lemons L.

Leonard T. J.

Lesley J.

Lingingfelter H. T.

Lingingfleter G. T.

Linsey J. R.

Long A.

Long J.

Long M. B.

Lost D. M.

Luttrell W.

Madgett R.

Mann W. S.

Mansfield W. S.

Mansfield Z. M.

Maples H. C.

Marr B. L.

Matlock G.

Maxwell G. W.

May M. V.

McClannihan D.

McClawson J. M.

McClure M. D.

McDowell W.

McKann A.

McMurray R. B.

McMurray W.

McPhail D. M.

McPhall B.

McPherson J. A.

McTeay D.

Meek R.

Memsel C.

Miles J.

Millard L. R.

Miller J. W.

Mills J. F.

Mills W.

Millsaps J.

Millsaps W. J.

Milton W.

Minsey R.

Moffatt J.

Montgomery C.

Montgomery J. L.

Morrison T. C.

Mossey J. J.

Murphty J. M.

Murphy E. A.

Murphy J.

Mussin H. M.

Neiley W. N.

Nevins L.

Newman G.

Nichols D.

Noe W.

Norman J.

Odin P. H.

OHenger M.

Ouslisvan R. T.

Palmer W. N.

Patty J. A.

Payne J. P.

Perry A. T.

Phelps J. M.

Phelps O.

Phelps W.

Pickens S.

Pierce R.

Pieree R. M.

Pinkney W. C.

Plumons T. J.

Powell J.

Pryor M.

Purger W.

Rale B.

Ramsey M.

Ramsey M. C.

Ray P.

Rease L.

Rease W.

Reed R.

Reed W. M.

Renlan T.

Rice J. M

Richter H.

Riddle J. R.

Roberson J.

Robinson H.

Rodgers M. H.

Rogers J. A.

Rogers T. W.

Rogers W.

Rogers W. J.

Rolen B. W.

Romines G. R.

Romines L.

Romines S.

Rule B.

Rule C.

Rule S.

Russell A.

Russell B.

Russell C.

Russell N.

Russell O. C.

Russell R. T

Sanders D.

Sangler J. M.

Saylor J.

Scott J.

Scott J.

Scroggs I.

Shelton C. G.

Shorts J. W.

Simpson A. A.

Simpson J. H.

Simpson J. I.

Small H. J.

Smith J.

Smith J. P.

Smith J. R.

Smith W. D.

Splann A.

Sprangle G.

Stanley M.

Station H.

Stevens J.

Stone W.

Strickley M.

Stroud J. N.

Sullivan O. P.

Sumner J. B.

Sumney J.

Swaggarty W. S.

Swaggerty S.

Tarver J.

Thomas H.

Thomas M.

Thomas N.

Thompson M.

Thompson R.

Thompson U.

Tipton A.

Tipton C.

Tipton C. C.

Tipton J.

Trabough J.

Trent R. A.

Turner R.

Ursery J. R.

Varnell A. P.

Vineyard A.

Wade J. W.

Wade W. D.

Wadell S. M.

Walberton P.

Walker B. B.

Wayland L. A.

White J.

Whitman R.

Whittenberger D. A.

Williams D. M

Williams E.

Williams N. C.

Williams N. G.

Williams S. H.

Wilson A.

Woods J.

Woods J. E.

Woods L.

Wright W.

Wrinkle A

Wylers L.

This photo shows The Sultana as it passes by in Arkansas just prior to the explosion.

There are nearly three thousand interments at this cemetery.





Visited August 17, 2014 and March 30, 2015

Thanks for visiting this page. If you have any additional information about this, or any other, cemetery in the Smokies, please let me know.

Keep on creepin' and always be respectful!