The U.S.S. Cairo was sunk in the Yazoo River by a Confederate torpedo in December 1862. A century later, she was raised and salvaged along with thousands of priceless artifacts. The boat, currently owned by the State of Mississippi, is now at Pascagoula, Miss., awaiting reconstruction.
The artifacts, through an agreement with the State of Mississippi and the Warren County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors, have been entrusted to the National Park Service for preservation, care, and display at Vicksburg National Military Park.
This publication is designed to interpret both the boat and the artifacts to visitors at the park.
Inquiries about the Cairo should be addressed to the Superintendent, Vicksburg National Military Park, Box 349, Vicksburg, MS 39180.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
Price—80 cents

Foreword

For 11 years, I was closely associatedwith the Cairo project, and I know how difficult it is to place theundertaking in its proper perspective and to dispassionately evaluateits historical significance. I was accordingly delighted to learn thatVirgil Carrington Jones, who needs no introduction to readers interestedin Civil War partisan operations and action afloat, had agreed tochronicle the story of the Cairo and her rendezvous with destiny on theYazoo in December 1862; and that Harold L. Peterson, whose publicationson arms and armament are legion, would survey, describe, and evaluatethe thousands of artifacts recovered.

Jones and Peterson, as the readersof this booklet will discover, have written of the Cairo and her treasuretrove of artifacts with keen insight and understanding. Their accounts willspark the reader’s interest, and, in conjunction with the salvaged objectsthemselves, lead to a better understanding of how bluejackets lived andfought in our Civil War.

—Edwin C. Bearss

The Wartime Adventures of the U.S.S. Cairo
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