Kathryn Tucker Windham (1918-2011) was the best ghost storyteller I have ever heard. She was the famous Alabama storyteller and author who I recall hearing speak at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library in the mid 1980s.
Her books of ghost stories and folklore, including “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey,” remain classic tales for both young and old. It was her ghost story, “The Phantom Steamboat of the Tombigbee” that got me interested in the tragic story of the steamboat Eliza Battle.
I have often written about the Eliza Battle and her burning and sinking on a freezing flooded Tombigbee River in 1858. She was traveling from Columbus to Mobile and about 45 miles south of Demopolis when fire was discovered around 1:30 a.m. March 1. Her 100 passengers and crew had to decide whether to remain on board the steamer and die by fire or jump into the icy river and freeze.
The absolute horror of people trapped in that circumstance and the resulting death toll was covered for two days in the New York Times and in newspapers from Scotland to New Zealand.
Alabama Public Television is producing a series of programs, “Jeffrey’s Southern Ghosts,” on the ghost stories of Kathryn Tucker Windham and the story of the Eliza Battle has now been released as the series’ first episode. It is aptly named “Death by Fire or Ice?”
The episode combines archival footage of Windham telling the ghost story with a current investigation into the actual fate of the Eliza Battle. I was fortunate to spend time last October in Pennington, Alabama, and on Tombigbee with the Alabama Public Television crew who were a delightful group. We talked about the Eliza Battle and how the ghost story compared to the real events.
We then got on the river and traveled by boat to the scene of the tragedy searching for her final resting place.
There is a lot more to this story but then why not let Alabama Public Television tell you in “The haunting true story of the Ghost Ship Eliza Battle” on YouTube.
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
