USS Cairo

[beaupower32]

About a month ago I went on vacation to see my family in Louisiana. Well on the way down we stoped in Vicksburg, Mississippi to visit the Civil War battle ground. This was my second time and the first time my wife has been there. Dont know if many of you know this but they have a Ironclad that has been restored. I wanted to share this with you for if you ever go to Vicksburg, be sure to stop by and see this. There is also a 16 Mile drive to view the entire battlefield. Anyways, I posted pictures of the USS Cairo as she look back then and the way she looks today. If you noticed the gaping hole in the hull on the port side in the front, that is where the mine/torpedo hit causing the Cairo to sink. Alot of the wood is still original, being a grey color, if you look at the bow, that is all original wood. And all the original steal is painted black, including the engines. The cannons are all original from the Cairo. They said when they found the ships bell, there was still air traped inside from when it sank. Here are some specs:



Class: City Ironclad River Gunboat
Launched: December 1861
At: Mound City, Illinois
Commissioned: January 15, 1862
Sunk: December 12, 1862.

Length: 175 feet
Beam: 51 feet, 2 inches
Draft: 6 feet
Displacement: 512 tons
Armament: three Army 42-pounder rifles; three Navy smoothbore 64-pounders; 6 Navy smoothbore 32-pounders; one 30-pounder Parrott

In the same year she was commissioned, USS Cairo had the dubious distinction of being the first armored vessel in the history of warfare to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo, today called a mine. On December 12, 1862, in the Yazoo River approximately 10 miles north of Vicksburg, Cairo was struck by two torpedoes, sinking in less than 12 minutes with no loss of life.

After 102 years beneath the muddy waters of the Yazoo River, Cairo was raised in 1964, by a group of private citizens who called themselves "Operation Cairo." Currently on display within the Vicksburg National Military Park, Cairo is the only surviving vessel of her class. Original guns and carriages are mounted on the vessel. Visitors to the site can walk aboard a reconstructed portion of the gundeck and view the original engines, boilers, pilothouse and remaining iron. Adjacent to the outdoor vessel exhibit, the Cairo Museum exhibits smaller items recovered from the boat such as sailors' personal possessions, cookware and weaponry.

[Capt. Vick]

Man, that's the great thing about history in general, you never know what's going to turn up

[vikingBerserker]

I had no idea about her, THANKS for posting!

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Cool photos, thanks for sharing!

[imalko]

Great photos and info! Thanks for posting them.
Looking at the first picture I must say that forward deck is too close to the waterline for my taste.

[beaupower32]

Yeah, she sat pretty low in the water, but needed to for crusing in the Rivers. I remember standing by it and it was probly 7 or 8 feet from bottom of the boat to the deck. Very shallow draft indeed.

[davparlr]

Off the beach at Fort Morgan on Mobile bay lies a Monitor type ironclade the Tecumseh. My brother has dove on it, but only the top of the turret was visible. I have heard that now it is completely covered. I have always wondered why someone has not started a program to raise this historic ship design.

[comiso90]

Off the beach at Fort Morgan on Mobile bay lies a Monitor type ironclade the Tecumseh. My brother has dove on it, but only the top of the turret was visible. I have heard that now it is completely covered. I have always wondered why someone has not started a program to raise this historic ship design.

I've been to the Cairo but i never heard of that... how long ago did your bro dive it?

Cairo is amazing... good post!

[syscom3]

That was interesting.

Thanks!

[davparlr]

I've been to the Cairo but i never heard of that... how long ago did your bro dive it?

Probably 30- 40 years ago. I heard that Ivan completely covered it up.

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Great thread beaupower! I didn't know the ship even existed. Will have to look it up. Thanks again!

[Messy1]

Great find and thanks for posting. Would love to see it in person.

[DBII]

thanks for sharing. cool photo.

DBII

[ToughOmbre]

Great stuff beau!

Thanks!

TO

[RabidAlien]

Great post! I've been to parts of the battleground, my family would spend an hour or two looking at cannons and stuff while driving between Georgia (where Dad was stationed) and Texas (where family lives) for vacations. We'd always spend the night in Vicksburg, but as kids we were more interested in the hotel swimming pool and ordering pizza than in looking at musty old battlefields. I've wanted to try to get back there again.