Robert Louden
Robert Louden (died 1867) was a Confederate terrorist and messenger in the American Civil War.
Louden was said to be the primary messenger for delivering messages from Sterling Price to Confederate regulars and bushwhackers. He was involved with the sinking of several Union steamboats in St. Louis, Missouri and at his deathbed claimed to have destroyed the Sultana, which killed an estimated 1,300 to 1,900 Union troops and civilians returning home after the war, the worst maritime disaster in United States history.[1][2]
Louden died of Yellow Fever in New Orleans, Louisiana.
References
New York Times article published in Knoxville Daily Journal, May 9, 1888, page 2 for a reference to his claim on the Sultana sinking: “Yes, I know something about the Sultana disaster,” said Mr. (William C.) Streeter in reply to an inquiry, “I can give the cause of the explosion. A torpedo inclosed (sic) in a lump of coal was carried aboard the steamer at Memphis and deposited in the coal pile in front of the boilers for the express purpose of causing her destruction. The man who placed the torpedo on the boat is (on) my authority, for I had (heard) the statement from his own lips." ... “It was after his return home that he told me the story of how he smuggled the torpedo on board the Sultana. His real name is Robert Lowden, but he was always known in this city by his alias, Charlie Dale."