USS Cairo Quick Facts

USS Cairo Gunboat

NPS Photo

The USS Cairo is on display and open to the public at Vicksburg National Military Park. Visitors have the unique opportunity to set foot on a Civil War ironclad and see the damage that led to it's sinking in 1862. The accompanying museum and summer ranger programs help bring life aboard the gunboat to life.

Quick Facts For the USS Cairo

Ironclad River Gunboat: City Class
Constructed: Mound City, IL
Length: 175 ft
Tonnage: 152
Top Speed: 6 Knots
Crew Size: 251 Officers and Men
Commissioned: January 16, 1862
Torpedoed and Sunk: December 12, 1862
Raised: December 12, 1964

 

Learn more about the ironclad and its unique story

• Explosion Sinks the USS Cairo- the first ship to be lost to a torpedo.
• 100 Years on the Bottom- learn more about the efforts to find and raise the boat
• Armor — Iron Plating on the USS Cairo- protecting crew and supplies
• Thirteen BIG Guns- the armament of the ironclad
• Capstan- How to move an anchor and heavy guns
• Fire Tube Boilers- Civil War- era "powerhouse" for the boat
• Paddlewheel- propulsion system for the ironclad

Also Explore the Virtual Museum Exhibit for the USS Cairo and Vicksburg National Military Park