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Vicksburg National Military Park
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| U.S.S. Cairo Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg, Mississippi |
U.S.S. Cairo Museum
Perhaps the most unique feature of Vicksburg
National Military Park is the opportunity it provides
to literally step aboard a Civil War gunboat.
During the early months of the war, Union
authorities developed a flotilla of ironclad gun-
boats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. They
planned to use these seven vessels to force their
way by water into key Southern river systems.
Among these was the U.S.S. Cairo, constructed at
Mound City, Illinois, and commissioned in January
of 1862. The Cairo saw action at the Battles of
Plum Point and Memphis and was among the
boats sent up the Yazoo River on December 12,
1862 to clear the river of Confederate opposition.
As the boats moved upstream to a point seven
miles north of Vicksburg, Confederate artillery
batteries opened fire. The captain of the Cairo, Lt.
Commander Thomas Selfridge, Jr., ordered his
men to prepare for action. The gunboat turned to
engage the Confederate gunners when it was
suddenly rocked by two explosions. The blasts
came not from artillery, but from underwater mines
detonated from the shore.
The Cairo sank in twelve minutes, the first ship in
history to be sunk by an electronic mine. No lives
were lost in the incident.
The gunboat remained on the bottom of the Yazoo
River until the 1960s when it was cut into three
sections and raised. Cleaned and preserved by
workers at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, the
Cairo was moved to Vicksburg National Military
Park in 1977 and can be seen there today.
The centerpiece of a fascinating museum and
display, the Cairo provides visitors a chance to
step back in time by inspecting the interior of a
real Civil War gunboat. Special walkways provide
access to both the exterior and interior of the
gunboat and its impressive array of cannon. The
adjacent museum exhibits scores of artifacts
recovered from the vessel at the time it was raised
from the Yazoo.
The U.S.S. Cairo is adjacent to Vicksburg National
Cemetery and is on the primary tour road in the
National Military Park.
National Military Park is the opportunity it provides
to literally step aboard a Civil War gunboat.
During the early months of the war, Union
authorities developed a flotilla of ironclad gun-
boats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. They
planned to use these seven vessels to force their
way by water into key Southern river systems.
Among these was the U.S.S. Cairo, constructed at
Mound City, Illinois, and commissioned in January
of 1862. The Cairo saw action at the Battles of
Plum Point and Memphis and was among the
boats sent up the Yazoo River on December 12,
1862 to clear the river of Confederate opposition.
As the boats moved upstream to a point seven
miles north of Vicksburg, Confederate artillery
batteries opened fire. The captain of the Cairo, Lt.
Commander Thomas Selfridge, Jr., ordered his
men to prepare for action. The gunboat turned to
engage the Confederate gunners when it was
suddenly rocked by two explosions. The blasts
came not from artillery, but from underwater mines
detonated from the shore.
The Cairo sank in twelve minutes, the first ship in
history to be sunk by an electronic mine. No lives
were lost in the incident.
The gunboat remained on the bottom of the Yazoo
River until the 1960s when it was cut into three
sections and raised. Cleaned and preserved by
workers at Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, the
Cairo was moved to Vicksburg National Military
Park in 1977 and can be seen there today.
The centerpiece of a fascinating museum and
display, the Cairo provides visitors a chance to
step back in time by inspecting the interior of a
real Civil War gunboat. Special walkways provide
access to both the exterior and interior of the
gunboat and its impressive array of cannon. The
adjacent museum exhibits scores of artifacts
recovered from the vessel at the time it was raised
from the Yazoo.
The U.S.S. Cairo is adjacent to Vicksburg National
Cemetery and is on the primary tour road in the
National Military Park.
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| Bow of the U.S.S. Cairo Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| Heavy Cannon U.S.S. Cairo Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| Cannon and Iron Plating U.S.S. Cairo Vicksburg, Mississippi |