Did you know about the sinking of the Pulaski before you read this book? Why do you think that stories like this get lost to time? What surprised you most when you learned about this shipwreck?

Did you know about the sinking of the Pulaski before you read this book? Why do you think that stories like this get lost to time? What surprised you most when you learned about this shipwreck?

I had never heard of the sinking of the Pulaski before reading this book. Could this story, and others like it, have gotten lost in time simply because of the lack of, and delayed, communication of the 1830s? Also, it seemed that possibly the survivors didn't want to remember such a horrific event and didn't talk about it.

I did not know about the sinking prior to reading this book. It occurred to me that there are likely numerous similar stories lost in the passage of years due to lack of communication channels, or the lesser notoriety of the passengers, or even the praise and publicity over the ship itself. The Titanic, for example, was at its time the largest moving object built, and the world tracked its voyage. I was surprised that it had remained undiscovered for so many years.

I did not know about the sinking of the Pulaski before this and found it to be fascinating, and of course very sad. I think sharing knowledge was so very different so many years ago. I agree with those who said communication may have been the problem, in this incident not being well remembered. I sometimes tend to forget how much communication channels have even changed in my lifetime, let alone looking back so much further. Even if it was known at the time, the history was not "big enough" perhaps to make it into recorded history. So many tragedies happened, it seems, where the stories did not live on. In my family, the sad stories were not repeated - it was all more about looking toward hope in the future.

I was totally surprised and intrigued to learn the history of the sinking of the Pulaski! I kind of thought the reason I had not heard of it was because I have spent most of my life in the North. I wonder if folks who lived closer to Savannah had, indeed heard of it.

I had read an article about major American ship disasters, like the Sultana, which included the Pulaski, but it didn’t really register with me until I was reading Surviving Savannah. I Googled to find out more of the background and found out that another major discovery occurred in July, 2021. Through a sonar survey, the salvage team found the stern section, which included the Captain’s and first class cabins. They expect it to produce some rich artifacts.

That is so cool! Thanks for the link.

I wasn’t familiar with the Pulaski accident. However, I wasn’t surprised because shipwrecks are not a topic that I personally know about, the exception being the Titanic. My assumption is that there are many historical incidents like the Pulaski that are virtually unknown because of the lack of records and other documentation.

I did not know about the sinking of the Pulaski prior to reading this book. In this modern day and age of instant communication, it is impossible to imagine the distressed survivors trying to sustain themselves in the ocean for five days and nights. Given that this incident happened almost two hundred years ago and was really somewhat local in nature, since these were Savannah residents traveling up the eastern coast of the U.S. for summer vacation, I don't feel it is unusual that we have not heard about it.

I did not know about this shipwreck. I find it amazing that the ship was actually located after all these years. What surprised me the most was how a stupid act caused a mighty ship to go down. I guess we have had so many stories over the years that this one was minor compared to wars and other world wide events and thus lost to time.

I am not surprised that I did not know about this shipwreck. I read so many historical novels that have enlightened me about aspects of history that were never mentioned in the history courses that I took in school. It is actually sad that we know so little!

I had never heard of the Pulaski prior to reading this book. I also was not aware of the period history in which residents of Georgia traveled to escape the sweltering summers. I suspect that the shipwreck is not more well known because there were many other similar incidents at that time. However, as a materials engineer, I feel like this is a classic case to teach to engineering students! The Titanic is a timeless lesson about brittle fracture of metal from cold temperature.

The thing that surprised me the most was how few people on board knew how to swim, and to a lesser degree, the lack of lifeboats in ready condition (although this was also the case with the Titanic).

I was unaware of the Pulaski shipwreck before reading this book. However, it's not surprising to me that the story wasn't well known. I'm glad the author took time to research and document the story and people involved.

No I did not know about this disaster. The author, in her note, did a good job of telling us how she learned about it. Bluffton SC has a statue that identifes the tragedy.

In Bluffton, on the May River, there is a memorial stone that reads “Samuel Parkman: Perished on the Steamboat Pulaski with his three daughters, Authexa, Caroline and Theresa Parkman.”

What surprised me the most? That rescue workers gave up as soon as they did. Survivors were floating for four days and rescuers had already given up on them. Hadn't they read Unbroken (Louis Zamperini survived for 47 days at sea??).

Why do we all know about the Titanic and not the Pulaski? Is it the time of event? In the 1830's, news did not travel as fast. Later tragedies were more publicized. Thanks to our author, this tragedy is known to a few more.

I did not know about the Pulaski prior to reading this book. I agree with those who mentioned the change in communications, etc., but I was most surprised that such a stupid act would have been the cause and that it took so long to locate the wreckage - it isn't like it was on an ocean. Also, the fact that it probably wasn't national news as was the Titanic with famous folks on board.

No, I did not know about this terrible event and how it was lost in history. I immediately wanted to know more about it. When the description appeared on Bookbrowse, I felt excitement to be able to receive the book and read it with others who felt the same way.
One of my favorite genres is Historical Fiction. Strange category, because the two are a dichotomy in categories. Fiction is an untrue story; historical refers to a true story in the past. The author did an excellent job chasing the true story while some facts are not factual.

I had surprisingly heard of it because of the infamous NC coast being known to house many shipwrecks. I learned about that at the beach we go to and it was very chilling to think about.

I did not know about the sinking of the Pulaski, but became fascinated by her story. I think another factor might be that history is changed, amended or forgotten at times. There are wonderful Northwest history stories my generation knows like the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 but it has now become forgotten. This was and remains the biggest wind storm with huge damages that hit throughout Oregon with 112 mph winds.

Before reading this book I was unfamiliar with The Pulaski. However, I was aware of the Sultana and Arabia as well as my fascination with the CSS Hunley. Since reading this book I’ve been reading a lot about the Pulaski and passengers that actually survived. It is amazing.

This was all new to me. For me, there is geographic considerations as I live in the western US and this happened on the eastern seaboard so I didn't learn about this in school at all. I've learned a lot of history by reading historical fiction, that's what I love about reading! I was most surprised by the different ways people survived. I think those in the Titanic disaster were not so lucky because the water was so cold. These survivors struggled with sunburn and no drinking water.

I did not know about The Pulaski.

This was a wonderful read and a great history lesson.

LOVED IT!!

I was familiar with the sinking of the Pulaski as it is part of the history of my church in Tallahassee, Fl. The Rev. Loring Woart and his wife Elizabeth perished during the shipwreck. He was the first rector of St. John's Episcopal and there is an obelisk in front of our church commemorating their lives.

I did not know about the sinking of the Pulaski. It was surprising the number of prominent southern families that died in this disaster, yet it is not well known. It is also interesting that it referred to as the southern Titanic, even though this disaster occurred decades before the Titanic. I don't know why this story would be lost to history given the number of survivors that wrote accounts of what happened. It might be a bit of a regional thing, with only those in the area knowing about it.