The USS Cairo was the first City Class ironclad gunboat built by James B. Eads for the Union in 1861; later City Class ironclads were referred to as Cairo Class gunboats. The City Class ironclads were 175 feet long, weighed 512 tons with a draught of 6 feet, and carried a crew of 512 officers and men. The Cairo was commissioned on January 25, 1862, under the command of Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote, and assigned to the Western Gunboat Flotilla. Ordered to patrol the Mississippi River, the Cairo saw action at Clarksville, Nashville and Fort Pillow.
On December 12, 1862 the Cairo received orders to destroy Confederate batteries and clear the Yazoo River of underwater mines. Just north of Vicksburg the Cairo came in contact with two electrically detonated torpedoes, which ripped holes in the ships hull. The Cairo sunk within twelve minutes, and became the first armored warship to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo.
In 1956, Edwin C. Bearss, historian at Vicksburg Military Park, located the wreckage of the Cairo, and efforts were undertaken to raise and restore it. The Cairo and many of its artifacts were recovered in 1964 and are currently on exhibit at Vicksburg National Military Park. Several artifacts from the ship are on display at the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Museum as well.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30816
