During the siege of Vicksburg many naval guns were loaned
to the Army to increase the Federal artillery fire. The cannon were usually manned by army
artillerymen. Battery Selfridge, however, was the only battery which contained cannon
manned exclusively by sailors. The battery was named after its commander. Lieutenant
Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., the former commander of the U.S.S. Cairo, an ironclad
gunboat which was sunk by a mine in the Yazoo River in December 1862.
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Last update: Friday, November 05, 1999
http://www.nps.gov/vick/ts_7/ts_7.htm
Editor: G. Zeman
