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Pvt. Lewis Miscogeopn
Co. K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters
Pvt. Lewis Miscogeopn. He was a full-blooded Anishnaabek Indian from northern mainland Michigan who enlisted at Little Traverse City, Michigan on September 10, 1863, in Co. K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. He was given the nickname "Little Feather" by his comrades. On June 17, 1864, he was taken prisoner by Confederate forces during the Second Battle of Petersburg, VA. He spent ten months at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, GA, before being released in April 1865 and sent to a neutral exchange camp outside Vicksburg, MS.
On April 24, 1865, Private Miscogeon and 1,952 other ex-prisoners of were crowded aboard the Mississippi steamboat Sultana at Vicksburg, MS. At 2:00 a.m., on April 27, 1865, the Sultana exploded her boilers just above Memphis, TN.
Although 1,169 people lost their lives in the disaster, Private Miscogeon was fortunate to survive. He was rescued and taken to Overton Hospital in Memphis, listed as suffering from a "contusion." He was 31 years old at the time. He died around 1894 at age 61. Private Miscogeon was one of only two Native-Americans on board the Sultana when she exploded. Both men were fortunate enough to survive.