U.S.S. Cairo: The Story of a Civil War Gunboat, Comprising A Narrative of Her Wartime Adventures and an Account of Her Raising in 1964

by Virgil Carrington Jones, Harold Leslie Peterson

Historical narrative on the activities of the U.S.S. Cairo which was sunk in the Yazoo River by a Confederate torpedo in Dec. 1862. Also discusses the thousands of priceless artifacts found within her.

56 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

A graduate of Washington and Lee University, Virgil Carrington Jones served as the city editor for the Huntsville Times and worked as a reporter for the Richmond Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Washington Evening Star, and the Wall Street Journal.

Reviews

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cairo was a Civil War iron-clad gunboat based in the Mississippi River. Its career was short and ended rather ignominiously when the captain foolishly charged into a torpedo field. Fortunately no crew was lost.

While unremarkable in service, 100 years later the Cairo changed much about what historians thought they knew about the iron-clads. A team of historians raised the Cairo from where it lay buried in the Yazoo River. The ship was remarkably well preserved, and it was like a snapshot frozen in time.

This is a short book, only about 60 pages available as an ebook on Project Gutenberg. It is well illustrated with diagrams, maps, and photographs.

[George Kasnic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book on a niche subject. Saw the USS Cairo on our visit to Vicksburg NHP. This book provides a short history of the short service of the ship with details about its contracting, construction, battles, and demise. Its commanders are presented.

The book then shifts to the effort to find, salvage, and restore the vessel. This public-private effort gives us a glimpse into the mid-20th century workings in America of local, state, and federal governments performing their roles like they are supposed to, for the betterment of society in providing collective goods and services.