The third disaster in six days on American waterways shocked the nation when the steamboat W.R. Carter exploded in the early hours of the morning around thirty-five miles above Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. Carrying a full cargo and 200 passengers, the vessel was completely destroyed by fire and a reported 125 people lost their lives. This brought the total killed on U.S. rivers in a week to at least 365. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"The Mississippi Disaster," New York TImes, March 6, 1866.
William C. Cochran, "Perils of River Navigation," Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association; Volume X Part II, for the Year 1919-1920; 1921; p. 326.