"On December 12, 1862, the Union ironclad gunboat, Cairo, and several other vessels steamed up the Yazoo River, north of Vicksburg, to destroy Confederate batteries and clear enemy obstructions from the channel, Suddenly two quick explosions tore holes in the Cairo's bottom. In minutes the ironclad lay on the river bottom, only tops of its smokestack and flagstaff showing above the water.
Cairo was the first vessel ever sunk by an electronically detonated torpedo (today called a mine), but its place in history comes from what went down with it. Preserved like a time-capsule were information on naval construction, naval stores, armament, and the crew's personal gear."
quoted from Vicksburg National Military Park brochure.
The exhibit under a huge tent is a mixture of the salvaged parts of the iron clad and reconstruction.
This is the amazing part of this story. Read below.
A model of the Cairo.
Despite its sinking it was a formidable looking vessel.
4 comments:
...quite the boat.
Wow, that is REALLY cool, thanks for sharing! I'm stunned by how much it looks like a modern day stealth design. Very neat, thanks!!!
This is so interesting. I know my husband would have been glued to this exhibit.
It was interesting to see the ruins and I wondered what it would have looked like when it was complete. So I was glad to see the model. Also interesting how inexperienced the crew was and that so many were immigrants. I would have thought the North would have had more experienced seamen.
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