USS Cairo

USS Cairo at anchor
History
United States
Name	Cairo
Namesake	City of Cairo, Illinois
Operator	US Army
Ordered	August(?) 1861
Builder	James Eads and Company, Mound City, Illinois
Laid down	1861
Launched	1861
Commissioned	25 January 1862
Fate	Transferred to the US Navy
United States
Name	Cairo
Commissioned	1 October 1862
Fate	Sunk by mine, 12 December 1862
Status	Raised, 1964, museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type	City-class ironclad
Tonnage	512
Length	175 ft (53.3 m)
Beam	51 ft 2 in (15.6 m)
Draft	6 ft (1.8 m)
Installed power	5 fire-tube boilers
Propulsion	1 Steam engine Paddle wheel
Speed	4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)
Complement	251 officers and enlisted men
Armament	(see section below)
Armor	Forward casemate: 2.5 inches (64 mm) Pilot house: 2.5 inches (64 mm) 60 feet (18 m) of the side covering the machinery: 2.5 inches (64 mm). Forward part of casemate sides: 3.5 inches (89 mm) railroad iron
USS Cairo
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Coordinates	32°22′33″N 90°52′0″W / 32.37583°N 90.86667°W / 32.37583; -90.86667
Built	1861
NRHP reference No.	71000068
Added to NRHP	3 September 1971

USS Cairo /ˈkeɪroʊ/ is the lead ship of the City-class casemate ironclads built at the beginning of the American Civil War to serve as river gunboats.

Cairo is named for Cairo, Illinois. In June 1862, she captured the Confederate garrison of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, enabling Union forces to occupy Memphis. As part of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, she was sunk on 12 December 1862, while clearing mines for the attack on Haines Bluff. Cairo was the first ship ever to be sunk by a mine remotely detonated by hand.

The remains of Cairo can be viewed at Vicksburg National Military Park with a museum of its weapons and naval stores.