Overview | Vicksburg Siege | U.S.S. Cairo| River Warfare | Life Aboard | All Image Gallery    
The USS Cairo and her six sister gunboats were built to support the Union objective of wresting control of the Mississippi River from the Confederates. Her powerful guns, could interrupt Confederate commerce, batter opposing fortifications, repel enemy gunboats and rout any infantry or horse-drawn artillery. The USS Cairo and her six sister gunboats were built to support the Union objective of wresting control of the Mississippi River from the Confederates. Her powerful guns, could interrupt Confederate commerce, batter opposing fortifications, repel enemy gunboats and rout any infantry or horse-drawn artillery. With a crew of 175 men on board, only the officers and mates had sleeping quarters. Enlisted men slept in hammocks on the gun deck and under awnings on the hurricane deck when the weather was good. The hammocks were stored under canvas covers on the hurricane deck. These berths gave extra protection to the hurricane deck during an engagement. At times the hammocks were wrapped around the pilothouse to protect it during a fight. The pilothouse was the nerve center of the gunboat. From the pilothouse, the pilot read the river and guided the gunboat through the shifting, often treacherous, river channels. The commander, too, often occupied the pilothouse. They communicated with the engine room through a signal board or by shouting through a speaking tube. Pilothouses on Cairo and the six other City Class ironclads were dangerously exposed to enemy fire. Hogging is the term used to describe the tendency of the ends of the boat to droop and the center to hump up like a hog’s back. Hogging occurred under the stresses of the boat’s loads and movements because the river steamboats were extremely long in proportion to their depth. They were also flat-bottomed, with no deep keel to give them longitudinal structural stability. A system of hog chains and braces prevented hogging. The hog chains, iron rods 1-2½” thick, kept the bow and the stern from dropping; the thick, wooden braces kept the midships from raising. The starboard hog chains have been restored and reconstructed. The port hog chains have been restored and reconstructed. The port hog chains are missing. The wood braces are represented by new wood material. Cairo paddle wheel propelled the gunboat at a speed of 6 knots. The paddle wheel was placed within the raceway between the casemates to protect it from enemy cannon fire. This paddle wheel is a recessed wheel similar to the well-known stern wheel. The buckets were probably made of uniform-width wood and could have been easily replaced when damaged. Cairo carried three cutters and a launch. Except when the ironclad was underway, these boats ferried men and supplies between the boat and shore and to other boats. These boats took armed parties of sailors up the rivers and creeks too shallow to float the gunboat. They also became lifeboats the day Cairo foundered. Cairo carried coal, shot, shell, powder, and supplies stored in compartments in the hold below the gun deck. When Cairo sank, the men saved only what they carried. The storerooms yielded a wealth of artifacts, including many sailors’ personal possessions stored there for safekeeping. The capstan was a steam-driven winch used for pulling in the anchor, moving guns on the gun deck, and hauling lines. The capstan could also be turned manually. The capstan moved weights of several tons and was braced by the capstan block attached to the keel. Coal for firing the boilers was stored in the bunker below and in large bunkers on both sides of the boiler hold. Coal heavers shoveled the coal to the firerooms, where it was fed into the firebox of the boilers. When underway, Cairo burned nearly a ton of coal an hour. The coal you see is the coal found in the sunken Cairo hold. On this galley stove the cooks prepared food for Cairo officers and men. Named the “Southern Belle,” the cast iron range was manufactured by S.S. Burton and Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The sailors ate in messes of about 15 men, usually dining on salt beef or pork, the standard Navy fare. The USS Cairo and her six sister gunboats were built to support the Union objective of wresting control of the Mississippi River from the Confederates. Her powerful guns, could interrupt Confederate commerce, batter opposing fortifications, repel enemy gunboats and rout any infantry or horse-drawn artillery. Steam engines powered the machines of the 19th century, and steam engines propelled the ironclad gunboats. Steam produced in the boilers was concentrated in the steam drum and passed through a throttle to drive the pistons of the engine. A connecting pitman arm turned the crank of the paddle wheel. Cairo carried coal, shot, shell, powder, and supplies stored in compartments in the hold below the gun deck. When Cairo sank, the men saved only what they carried. The storerooms yielded a wealth of artifacts, including many sailors’ personal possessions stored there for safekeeping. The rudders steered the gunboat. They were controlled by steering cables attached to the wheel in the pilothouse. A gunboat would be disabled if a shell cut the steering cables. Long pins called gudgeons attached the rudders to pintels on the rudder posts. If damaged, the rudder could easily be removed for repairs. No additional information available. No additional information available. No additional information available. The chimneys vented smoke from the fire boxes and hot gases from the boilers. The draft created by the chimneys made the coal fires burn hotter. Guy wires supported the chimneys and spreader bars held them apart. A heat-shielding jacket prevented the hot chimneys from setting the boat on fire. The chimneys were also used for identification. The seven City Class gunboats looked so much alike that different color bands were painted on the chimneys to tell the boats apart. Cairo had gray bands. After Cairo sank, sailors knocked down the chimneys to hide the gunboat’s location. The lower chimneys were not recovered. These chimneys are the “ghosted” reproductions.