Virgil Carrington Jones

“ Many phases of life and organization on board a naval vessel developed according to tradition. No one ever wrote them down, and knowledge of them died with the veterans. In this field, the Cairo helped bring the period back to life in a truly vivid manner.
Take the matter of food and drink, for instance. Evidence from the Cairo shows that the sailors ate in messes of about 15 men, and each mess had a special chest to hold its gear: tin plates, cups, spoons, glass condiment bottles, scrub brushes, a washtub, and an earthenware jug of molasses. ”

“ Because of his detailed knowledge of the area and its history, visitors from many parts of the country sought his aid and guidance in their explorations of little-known Civil War sites and their hunts for surviving artifacts. On one such artifact-hunting expedition north of Vicksburg, some local farmers told Bearss that if he were interested and would come back when the water in the Yazoo River was low, he could see, at the foot of Snyder’s Bluff, the remains of the Cairo, the first warship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated “torpedo.” ”

“ In the autumn of 1962, Bearss, Jacks, Vicksburg National Military Park historian Albert Banton, and scuba divers Parks and Hart began a 30-day survey to determine the condition of the Cairo’s structural timbers. The New England Naval and Maritime Museum joined them in the effort. Firehoses cleared the silt from the spardeck, and the divers forced their way inside the casemate to get at the beams. Every one they tested was sound. ”

“ By remaining with the mortars, the Cairo’s crew missed the flurry of action that took place with some Confederate boats at Hale’s Point, 50 miles or so below New Madrid, As the Southern craft turned about and fled downstream, the Union fleet followed to within range of the guns at Fort Pillow, then turned about and tied up at Plum Point, a short distance upriver. The Cairo drifted in later with the mortar scows and took station the morning of April 14 to hurl 200-pound shells in a bombardment that would last for 7 weeks. ”

“ Finding the answers wasn’t easy. The river was so muddy that the divers had to work blind, and the swift current made the operation even trickier. Still, they found that the pilothouse protruded above the mud. They tried to get inside the vessel through the house, but mud completely filled the interior. In the end they had to be satisfied with the port covers from the pilothouse and a few planks for testing. But Bearss and the others now knew for certain that the wreck was the Cairo. The armored port covers had wiped away all doubt. ”

“ On October 29 the derricks tugged on the old vessel once more. If they could get her on top of the sunken barge, the engineers felt they could raise both together without difficulty. But Nature refused to cooperate. Water in the Yazoo dropped to a low level, much lower than optimum for the effort. There was no time to wait for rains and a rise in the water level. They had to work now or abandon the project. Cables strained and the casemate broke water. Just 6 inches more and the Cairo would slip easily onto the barge. ”

“ The morning after Davis took command, a Confederate fleet of rams steamed up from Fort Pillow just as Mortar Boat No. 16, guarded by the Cincinnati, was being moored at Craighead Point to begin the daily bombardment. This move by the Southerners caught the Union ironclads unprepared, some of them without sufficient steam to hold against the current of the stream. But their engineers reacted to the emergency, throwing oil, and anything else flammable which was available to them, into the fireboxes in an effort to raise steam. ”

“ While awaiting the replacement, Selfridge continued to strengthen the Cairo. More railroad iron was added to reinforce the casemate protecting the boilers and machinery.
His relief arrived on the morning of December 4, and he set out for the mouth of the Yazoo immediately, arriving on the 8th. The fleet that gathered there ready to go upstream was under the command of Capt. Henry Walke, a Mexican War veteran, a fine artist, and a dauntless fighter. ”

“ Upon her return from Eastport and Chickasaw, the Cairo received orders to move to the Cairo Naval Station and defend it against a threatened Confederate attack. Foote had learned that the South had completed 13 gunboats at New Orleans, and he feared these would be joined with the ram Manassas and run up the Mississippi against the Union fleet and bases. The Cairo arrived at the naval station on April 5. The following day the Shiloh campaign opened, giving her crew new cause to complain about their inability to take part in battle action. ”

“ In the beginning, the Cairo’s engines failed to function properly, and she was taken to an anchorage near Cairo for repairs. While lying there with a skeleton crew, news was received of the Union victory scored by ironclads at Fort Henry. The story was different at Fort Donelson, where Foote’s gunboats were mauled by Confederate shore batteries, but the Cairo men complained because they had been unable to take part in either affair. ”

“ The Cairo’s value to the Union must be estimated in terms of disappointment. At the start, she failed to function properly. In addition, she fired a few shells at the riverbank at Eastport, took her share of guard duty at Fort Pillow, and played a rather inconspicuous part in the battle at Plum Point and later that at Memphis. ”

“ In the battle, the Cairo was the first of the ironclads to fire, opening with her 42-pounder starboard bow rifle. Throughout the action she kept busy, firing, rescuing men from the water, and finally taking part in the running fight ”

“ For the next 6 days, the Cairo lay with the other ironclads at Memphis. On June 12 she was ordered to return to Fort Pillow, where she would remain for 3 months while her crew guarded public property, undertook patrols on each side of the river, and strengthened the boat. From a nearby sawmill and from the Fort Pillow fortifications, lumber and iron were obtained to build a barricade around the engines, steam drums, and boilers. ”

“ It was mid-January before the Cairo was commissioned. By that time, the Western Flotilla had come under the command of Andrew H. Foote, formerly commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and a veteran of 40 years’ service in the Navy. It was Foote who decided that the ironclads would be named for cities and towns along the Ohio and upper Mississippi Rivers, and not for Union military leaders, as Eads had proposed. ”

“ Indian and Territorial affairs are other major concerns of America’s “Department of Natural Resources.” The Department works to assure the wisest choice in managing all our resources so each will make its full contribution to a better United States—now and in the future. ”

“ There he joined a fleet of transports, mortar boats, gunboats, and tugs, which moved down the Mississippi several miles and anchored off New Madrid, Mo. The next point of attack would be Fort Pillow, a stronghold guarding the approach to Memphis, but the Cairo’s assignment was to wait behind with the unwieldy mortar scows. ”

“ Deck Plan of the Cairo (scale 1⁄4′′ : 4′)
High-resolution Version
21⁄2′′ × 13′′ iron plates 42-pounder Army rifles (port and starboard) Galley Three 8′′ Navy smoothbores (forward ports) 11⁄4′′ plating Wood 32-pounder Navy smoothbores (port and starboard) Officers’ quarters Captain’s cabin 21⁄2′′ plating Wood 32-pounder Navy smoothbores Thickness of plate armor: 21⁄2 in. Total weight of plate armor: 122 tons Plate armor material: Charcoal iron Wood backing for armor on three front panels of pilothouse: 191⁄2 in. Wood backing for armor on five side and back panels of pilothouse: 12 in. ”