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The Exterior of the USS Cairo
NPS Photo
Brief Overview
One of seven shallow-draft City Class river ironclads, The U.S.S. Cairo was commissioned in January of 1862. Named after towns along the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the seven formidable City Class gunboats prowled the Mississippi River and connecting shallow waterways, menacing Confederate supply lines and shore batteries.
The Cairo’s career was short, seeing limited action in battles at Plum Point, Tennesee (also known as the battle of Fort Pillow) in May,1862, and Memphis, Tennesee in June, 1862.
A historic image of the USS Cairo
Library of Congress
Selfridge and the Sinking of the USS Cairo
The Cairo's skipper, Lt. Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., was an aggressive and skilled captain. On the cold morning of December 12, 1862, Selfridge led a small flotilla of gunboats into the hazardous confines of the Yazoo River. Tasked with destroying Confederate batteries and clearing the river of torpedoes (underwater mines) the flotilla inched its way up the murky waters. As the Cairo reached a point seven miles north of Vicksburg the flotilla came under fire and the aggressive Selfridge ordered his guns to the ready and called for full steam, bringing the ironclad into action. Seconds later, disaster struck. Cairo was rocked by two explosions in quick succession. The first tore and gaping hole into the port (left) bow of the wooden hulled ironclad. The second detonated a moment later near the armored belt amidships on the starboard side. The hole on the bow proved to be catastrophic. As the doomed ironclad took on water, Selfridge ordered the Cairo to be beached and the crew to abandon ship. Within twelve minutes the Cairo slid from the river bank into six fathoms (36 feet) of water without any loss of life.
Cranes raising the USS Cairo from the Yazoo River in 1966.
Ken Parks
Recovery of the USS Cairo
As the Centennial of the Civil War approached, Edwin C. Bearss, Historian at Vicksburg National Military Park, was able to plot the approximate site of the wreck. Using a pocket compass and probes, Bearss and two companions, Don Jacks and Warren Grabau, set out to solve the mystery. By 1956, they were reasonably convinced they had found the Cairo, but three years lapsed before divers brought up an armored port cover confirming the find. A heavy accumulation of mud, a swift current, and near zero visibility deterred the divers as they explored the submerged gunboat. Local enthusiasm and interest began to grow in 1960 with the recovery of the pilothouse, an 8-inch smoothbore cannon with its wooden carriage and other artifacts. Following financial support from the State of Mississippi, the Warren County Board of Supervisors and funds raised locally, efforts to salvage the gunboat began in earnest.
Hopes of lifting the ironclad and the cargo of artifacts intact were crushed in October 1964 when the three inch steel lifting cables cut deeply into the Cairo's fragile wooden hull. A decsion was made to recover the Cairo in three sections. By the end of December 1964 the remains were put on barges and towed to Vicksburg. In the summer of 1965 the Cairo was again loaded onto barges and towed to Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Once there, the armor was removed, cleaned, and stored. The two steam engines were taken apart, cleaned and reassembled. Sections of the hull were braced internally and a sprinkler system was operated continually to keep the white oak timbers from warping and checking. The Cairo was exposed to the elements and hurricanes here and began to deteriorate in earnest.
USS Cairo Museum Entrance
NPS Photo/ C. Fields
Preserving the USS Cairo
In 1972, the United States Congress enacted legislation authorizing the National Park Service to accept title to the Cairo and reassemble the remnants for display and preservation in Vicksburg National Military Park. Delays in funding halted progress until June of 1977, when the Cairo was returned to the park and partially reconstructed on a concrete foundation near the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The recovery of artifacts from the Cairo revealed a treasure trove of weapons, munitions, naval stores, and personal property that help tell the story of the sailors that once called the ship home. Many of these artifacts are now on display in the USS Cairo Museum.
