After helping capture Memphis, the Cairo had been dispatched to Helena, Arkansas from where it was sent to the Vicksburg theater. The gunboat made it 16 miles from the Mississippi north of the city when two mines, or torpedoes, ripped open the hull.
No lives were lost, but the Cairo sank in 36 feet of muddy water in just 12 minutes.
Just over 100 years later, in 1964, the Cairo was raised from the mud, restored and moved to its current site at the Vicksburg National Military Park, where it attracts about 300,000 visitors a year. The famed gunboat will receive another kind of lasting recognition this year when it is depicted on Mississippi's coin in the U.S. Mint's "America the Beautiful" set, one of five state quarters that will be issued.
Tim Kavanaugh, supervisor of the Interpretive Ranger Division and licensed tour guide for the military park stated, "It's not a Southern coin but a United States coin. If it wasn't for the Cairo and ships like her, they would not be distributing a U.S. coin in Mississippi."
About the Cairo:
- The Cairo was built at Mound City, Ill. and its engines were made in Pittsburgh, Penn.
- The Cairo was order in September 1861 and commissioned Jan. 15, 1862, becoming part of the Army's Western Flotilla, but commanded by Navy Lt. Nathaniel Bryant. The ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy ownership October 1, 1862, 10 weeks before its sinking.
- A crew of 175 manned the gunboat.
- It cost $101,808 at 1861 valuation.
- The Cairo carried an armament of 14 heavy guns. The hull and casement weighed about 350 tons.
- Its maximum speed was six knots.
- On December 12, 1862, the Cairo became the first warship ever sunk by a "torpedo," or underwater mine.
- The sunken gunboat was located in the Yazoo river in 1956, and in 1964 it was raised and subsequently restored. It is on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park along with an adjoining museum.
Source: USS Cairo, Civil War Ironclad
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