This stencil belonged to Lieutenant Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., commander of the Union gunboat USS Cairo. The stencil was recovered from the Cairo, which was sunk in the Yazoo River in December 1862. The USS Cairo had the dubious distinction of being the first ship sunk by an electric torpedo.
The stencil reads “T. O. Sefridge Jr., U. S. Navy;” the “l” in Selfridge’s name was left off the stencil.
Born in Massachusetts in 1836, Selfridge was the son of a distinguished naval officer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1854 and served as an officer on board USS Cumberland during that ship’s legendary losing battle with the CSS Virginia in 1862. After serving for a few days in command of the USS Monitor, Selfridge was promoted to lieutenant commander in August 1862 and assumed command of the Cairo. Following the loss of that ship, Selfridge took command of the gunboat Conestoga. Ironically, that ship sank after colliding with another vessel, making the third time during the Civil War that Selfridge was forced to abandon a sinking ship.
Selfridge retired from the Navy in 1898 as a rear-admiral and died in 1924.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30269
