The sinking of the Sultana steamship on Ap ril 27\, 1865 remains the worst maritime disaster in United States history . The Sultana was overcrowded with over 2\,100 passengers including 1\,950 Union soldiers who were paroled prisoners of the confederacy. Myra Palome que will be sharing her National History Day Exhibit on the sinking of the Sultana. \; She will cover how she picked her topic\, how the sinking of the Sultana fit the National History Day theme\, she will share her re search process\, her personal connection to the Sultana\, the details of t he Sultana disaster and discuss the regional and state history day contest s that she participated in.
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By 1862\, the American
Civil War was not going well for the Union. Needing additional soldiers\,
President Lincoln put out the call for volunteers to serve in the Union ar
my. Over 1000 men from the northern Ohio counties of Cuyahoga\, Lorain and
Medina answered the call. \; This unit was organized in Cleveland in
August 1862 and became known as the 103rd \;Regiment of the Ohio Volun
teer Infantry. The 103rd \;saw action in Kentucky\, Georgia\, Alabama
and Tennessee. The regiment completed its service on June 12\, 1865. \
; During its tour\, 248 soldiers were killed as a result of their service.
Despite its losses\, the regiment&rsquo\;s outstanding war record and com
mendable service to the United States serves as a bright spot in American
History. Dave Ressler will show his work with the 103rd \;Ohio Volunte
er Infantry Museum\, highlighting some of the local veterans of the 103rd.
He will show and talk about using online genealogy tools to be able to cr
eate WikiTree profiles for Civil War soldiers and discuss WikiTree&rsquo\;
s Civil War Project and ways to get involved. \;
Bios
:
Myra Palomeque is a Junior at Lutheran West High School. \; Myr
a is a member of the National Honor Society. Myra participates in the Drum
Line in both Marching Band and Concert Band at Lutheran West. \; Myra
started participating in History Day her freshman year creating the exhib
it &ldquo\;Sí\;\, Se Puede!&rdquo\; regarding the United Farm Worker
s of America. \; Her project qualified for the State History Contest.
This year\, Myra&rsquo\;s exhibit on the Sultana Disaster placed at both t
he Regional and State History Day Contests as well as winning the Civil Wa
r Roundtable Award\, the Grays Armory Award and the \;National Maritim
e \;Historical \;Society Award. \;Myra has one older sister an
d one younger brother and lives with her family in Avon Lake. \;
Dave Ressler is the College Credit Plus U.S. History Te
acher and History Day Coordinator at Lutheran West High School in Rocky Ri
ver. \; Dave is a graduate of Lutheran West\, earned his Bachelor&rsqu
o\;s degree from Kent State University and his Masters in U.S. History fro
m American Military University. Dave is in his 32nd \;year of teaching
and his classes have participated in History Day since 2012. \; Dave
started researching family history while at Kent State and over the past t
wo years he has worked with Deb Wagner\, the curator of the 103rd \;OV
I Museum to create online profiles for each of the 1\,105 veterans of the
103rd \;in order to inform the public and potential descendants about
the 103rd \;Museum and Foundation. Dave and his wife Martha live in Fa
irview Park. \;