 Well, the owner of the steamboat Sultana negotiated with military officials and was assured that if his steamboat would come to Vicksburg, he was assured a full passenger load at the prescribed fee. So the Sultana made its way upriver from New Orleans, but the Sultana carried with it a big problem. A crack had been discovered in one of the ship's four huge boilers, and the ship needed to be docked for a major repair.