A few minutes after the departure of the Lady Gay, Captain Williams and the first trainload of former prisoners — an estimated 570 — pulled into Vicksburg. These men joined 398 soldiers already on board the Sultana, who probably came from the military hospital. Thus, the Sultana then exceeded her carrying capacity by more than six hundred. Among this first contingent was Sergeant Ely. He noted in his diary that the 'Sultana [was] a large but not very fine boat.'

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As the day wore on, two more trainloads of men boarded the Sultana. Captain Williams, whose responsibility was to count the soldiers as they went aboard the steamer, was not at the dock when the second group of men walked across the Sultana's gangplank. Consequently, four hundred soldiers were not added to his tally.

After this second load of soldiers boarded the Sultana, Captain Kerns warned Colonel Hatch that too many prisoners were being placed on the one steamer and tried to have some men sent north on the recently arrived Pauline Carroll. Hatch sent a telegram to Speed at the parole camp asking if there were more prisoners than could go aboard the Sultana. Speed, still convinced that there were no more than a total of 1,400 to be shipped that day, replied: '[No,] they can all go on one boat.' With that assurance, Hatch refused to divide the men between the two vessels.

Equally certain that his assessment was correct, Captain Kerns approached General Smith, pleading with him to 'interpose his influence and have part of the prisoners go on the Pauline Carroll.' Smith, like Hatch, did nothing.

The third and final train arrived at the riverfront late on the afternoon of April 24, carrying approximately eight hundred paroled prisoners. As the long column of soldiers from the train snaked toward the Sultana, Captain Kerns once again implored Speed, who had ridden into Vicksburg on the train, and Williams to reconsider and place some of the men on the Pauline Carroll, which was still docked beside the Sultana. Both officers refused Kerns's request. Williams, who had been aboard the Sultana, declared that there was plenty of room on her decks for the men to be comfortable. A little while later, Kerns watched in dismay as the Pauline Carroll steamed away from Vicksburg with a total of 17 passengers.

Dr. George S. Kemble, the medical director of the Department of the Mississippi, who visited the Sultana after the second trainload of men had boarded, shared Kerns's view. Concluding that the steamboat was too crowded for the comfort and safety of the sick men, Kemble sought and received permission from General Dana to remove 23 men who were confined to cots from the Sultana. He also redirected a column of 278 soldiers who came from the hospital.

Major William Fidler of the 6th Kentucky Cavalry, the highest ranking Union prisoner of war, also disagreed with Williams's assessment. As the last detachment of men boarded the steamer, Fidler complained to Mason that there were too many passengers aboard the Sultana. By now, the vessel's captain, having received many more troops than even he desired, was growing concerned about the stability of his boat. Although he 'thought he could carry them through,' Mason nevertheless protested any further loading. He too was ignored.

While the exact number of people loaded onto the Sultana on April 24 remains unknown, there can be no question that the steamer was grossly overcrowded. The human load was so great that it was necessary for the crew to install extra supports for the upper decks, for fear that the sagging floors might collapse. Captain Speed was shocked when informed by George Williams that he had counted 1,996 men boarding the ship, several hundred more than his estimate.

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