The Sinking of the USS "Cairo"

In 1862 a Confederate team torpedoed the Union's showpiece gunboat, the USS Cairo. It sank into the Yazoo River in minutes and rested there for 102 years, until it was salvaged in 1964 to become a premier exhibit at the Vicksburg National Military Park. This is the story of the USS Cairo. Using family oral history and newly examined documents found in the US National Archives, this text aims to disprove some previous theories and to correct factual errors found in earlier reports, including details of the weapon, identification of the torpedo crew, and illustrations of the five gunboats that engaged in the Yazoo battles.