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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Mississippi >> Vicksburg National Military Park – Mississippi >> Vicksburg National Military Park – USS Cairo – Mississippi tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Vicksburg National Military Park – USS Cairo – Mississippi

Images of Vicksburg National Military Park / USS Cairo – Western Mississippi, taken in October 2022.

Located in the Vicksburg National Military Park, the USS Cairo Ironclad River Gunboat, City Class, is exhibited next to the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

The USS Cairo was commissioned on January 16, 1862, and was one of seven ironclads built by the Union to patrol the Mississippi River. While on a mine-clearing expedition in the Yazoo River, the Cairo was rocked by an explosion at 11:55 a.m. on December 12, 1862, and sunk. It is believed that Confederate troops along the river bank electrically detonated the torpedo (mine) in the first attack of its kind.

The vessel was found in 1956, raised on December 12, 1964, and eventually relocated at Vicksburg National Military Park. It is the only remaining ironclad of its type in existence.

I had heard there were the remnants of an ironclad on display in this park but I was honestly blown away by the scene as I drove up to its resting place. This wasn’t a bunch of fragments propped up in a wall of glass enclosures, instead it was an entire ship expertly preserved under a giant canopy! And not only was I able to view it, I was also able to walk through it! For me it was a spectacular and unexpected find in Vicksburg National Military Park.
The USS Cairo preserved and under cover in Vicksburg NMP
The USS Cairo preserved and under cover in Vicksburg NMP 		Ironclad River Gunboat, USS Cairo, on display in Vicksburg NMP
Ironclad River Gunboat, USS Cairo, on display in Vicksburg NMP 		USS Cairo Ironclad River Gunboat, torpedoed in 1862 and raised in 1964, in Vicksburg NMP
USS Cairo Ironclad River Gunboat, torpedoed in 1862 and raised in 1964, in Vicksburg NMP 		Front view of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Front view of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		View of the entire length of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
View of the entire length of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Spot where an electrically detonated torpedo ripped a hole in the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Spot where an electrically detonated torpedo ripped a hole in the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		32-pounder Navy smoothbore cannon on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
32-pounder Navy smoothbore cannon on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Looking up at the Pilothouse, protected by iron plates, on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Looking up at the Pilothouse, protected by iron plates, on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		42-pounder Army rifle and iron railroad rails for added protection on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
42-pounder Army rifle and iron railroad rails for added protection on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Front of the USS Cairo with an 8-inch Navy smoothbore flanked by two 42-pounders in Vicksburg NMP
Front of the USS Cairo with an 8-inch Navy smoothbore flanked by two 42-pounders in Vicksburg NMP
Guns and Capstan (winch) at the front of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Guns and Capstan (winch) at the front of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		USS Cairo paddle wheel in Vicksburg NMP
USS Cairo paddle wheel in Vicksburg NMP 		Paddle wheel, oscillating arm and pistons on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Paddle wheel, oscillating arm and pistons on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Steam drum (top) and coal heated boilers on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Steam drum (top) and coal heated boilers on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Looking back on the Steam drum (top) and coal heated boilers on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Looking back on the Steam drum (top) and coal heated boilers on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Pilothouse, 32-pounder Navy and 8-inch Navy smoothbore guns on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Pilothouse, 32-pounder Navy and 8-inch Navy smoothbore guns on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Two 32-pounder Navy smoothbore guns on the side of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Two 32-pounder Navy smoothbore guns on the side of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Pilothouse and 8-inch Navy smoothbore gun on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Pilothouse and 8-inch Navy smoothbore gun on the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP 		Rear view of the USS Cairo with a 30-pounder Patriot rifle and a 32-pounder Navy smoothbore in Vicksburg NMP
Rear view of the USS Cairo with a 30-pounder Patriot rifle and a 32-pounder Navy smoothbore in Vicksburg NMP 		Long side view of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP
Long side view of the USS Cairo in Vicksburg NMP

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