Allen R. Coggins

A number of natural and technological tragedies, as well as epidemics, have shaped the Tennessee experience. Many resulted in massive property damage and/or loss of life and immeasurable human suffering. Storms have inflicted terrible damage in Tennessee throughout the last…

One of the worst passenger rail accidents in United States history occurred July 9, 1918, at the Dutchman's Grade, in Belle Meade, five miles west of Nashville. The southbound Memphis to Atlanta Passenger Express No. 1 collided head-on with a…

Between mid-December 1811 and mid-March 1812 a series of catastrophic earthquakes shook West Tennessee and the rest of the Central Mississippi Valley. Judging from reports and eyewitness accounts, the quakes would have measured among the highest ever recorded on the…

Moderate to heavy rainfall in December 1936 was no harbinger of disaster. However, as the rain, snow, and sleet continued through most of January 1937, soils became saturated, and the Mississippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee Rivers and their tributaries overflowed into…

The worst mine disaster in Tennessee history took place on May 19, 1902, at the Fraterville mine, near Coal Creek (now Lake City), Campbell County. At about 7:30 a.m., 184 men and boys entered the mine. Minutes later a horrendous…

The most serious outbreak of influenza (also known as grippe, grip, or flu) in Tennessee history, with 7,721 recorded deaths from the disease, was the influenza pandemic of 1918-19. What happened in Tennessee was part of an international pandemic, or…

At 2:00 a.m. on April 27, 1865, the magnificent side-wheeler riverboat Sultana was struggling against the surging current of the Mississippi River eight miles north of Memphis. The weather was rainy and chilly, and the boat was grossly overloaded. Suddenly…