In the Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi.
The U.S.S. Cairo was one of seven ships in its class named in honor of towns along the upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers - in this case Cairo, Illinois. The ship was built by the Union in 1862 as an ironclad (steam propelled warship with steel plates) and was considered a superior warship at that time. The U.S.S. Cairo and the sister ships in its class were used by the Union for offensive and defensive purposes on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and their tributaries. In 1862 the ship was sent up the Yazoo River just north of Vicksburg. The Confederates defended the Yazoo from shore as part of their overall defense of Vicksburg. When the U.S.S. Cairo received artillery fire from the Confederates on shore the ship turned to fire back. Then Confederates on the shore electronically detonated a river mine. Two explosions from the mine sunk the warship in 12 minutes, making it the first warship in history to be sunk by an electronically detonated mine. All officers and crew members aboard the ship survived but the Union expedition on the Yazoo River ended in defeat. In the 1960's the ship was salvaged from the bottom of the River by cutting it into three pieces (because of its size and weight). The walkways on the salvaged ship allowed us to step aboard. We also visited the Cairo Museum near the ship which displays various artifacts removed from the sunken ship, such as munitions and the personal gear of the sailors who served on board.
The 1800-acre Vicksburg National Military Park is the site of the the Civil War campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863. The Park was established by Congress in 1899. We followed the 16 mile tour road in the Park.
The Battle of Vicksburg, also called the Siege of Vicksburg, was about the Union forces trying to control the Mississippi River. Vicksburg was one of the last Confederacy strongholds of the River. A Union victory at Vicksburg would have given control of the Mississippi River to the Union and would have split the Confederacy in half; states west of the Mississippi River (Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana) would have been isolated from the rest of the Confederacy. On July 4, 1863, after a long land and naval campaign at Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John Pemberton's Confederate forces surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces. After the battle, the Union forces controlled the Mississippi River which was a critical turning point of the Civil War. Vicksburg would not celebrate the July 4 holiday for another 81 years.
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