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Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: {July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Mississippi COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Jackson INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DA TE (lype an emries — complete appncaoie sections) lliQvQ.%* /Wf}R Q Li ill COMMON: U.S.S. Cairo AND/OR HISTORIC: mi STREET AND NUMBER: Ingalls Ship Yard, P. 0. Box 1267 CITY OR TOWN: Pascagoula STATE CODE COUNTY: CODE MISSISSIPPI 39567 ?ft TQr kson 05^ STATUS ACCESSIBLE CATEGORY OWNERSHIP (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC z d District Q Building (21 Public Public Acquisition: D Occupied Yes: o i —i it .1 S Restricted D Site [] Structure D Private Q 1" Process | _1 Unoccupied i¥i n . PI Unrestricted ^] Object D Both D Bein 9 Considered gv] Preservation work in progress ' — 1 u PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) ID \ 1 Agricultural [ | Government | | Park 1 I Transportation [~1 Comments d Commercial d Industrial Q Private Residence d Other (Sper.ify) d Educational d Military Q Religious Remains in storage ..,, uo 1 1 Entertainment d Museum | | Scientific .. •z OWNER'S NAME: STATE: Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board Mississippi UJ STREET AND NUMBER: LLJ P. 0. Box 849 to CITY OR TOWN: STA"FE: CODE Jackson Mis sissippi 39205 2 8 ^^^^^•^•••^^^•llSilllll^lil!^^^^^ COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board o STREET AND NUMBER: 5^ CO P. 0. Box 849 I-*o CITY OR TOWN: STA"rE CODE Jackson , , , ; ~ > Mi ssissippi 39205 28 llpliiillliiiiiiiiil _ mi N\ TltUE OF SURVEY: /•-•_' -Kfrl , • -j-« 5^-- <£•^ \K r\73^ ^"^ \3"~^=' v-"" .. • ^ ENTR "iV'XiU*' -i "5 ^ ''•''•- Tl O NUMBERY DATE OF SURVEY-. / Q Federal Q State Q County Q Local 70 DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RE'CORD^:fp| I* /. '• -' Z ~0 ^ c CO STREET AND NUMBER: \ \v.'',." -• /-,'. J:, v .^^' . _, '', '• '*y/ ' _,/ m ^L O r~z CITY OR TOWN: ^-i^.J^s^-*^ STAT E: CODE D •H U m X Vf (Check One) n Excellent D Good Q Fair ~*% Deteriorated D Ruins [~] Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) S Altered Q Unaltered }£] Moved G Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL. APPEARANCE Originally, the JJ-jS^jS. Cairo measured 175 feet: in leiigth, fifty- one feet in width, and fifteen feet in, depjth. The vessel had seven hull compartments, and its plate armor was two and one half inches thick. This armor (charcoal iron) was supported by white oak, with the thickness of the wood varying throughout the boat* It had five boilers, two engines fired by coal, and two chimneys (smokestacks) that were painted in colored bands for identification purposes. The exterior was painted black, while the interior was white washed. At the present time, the structure of the Cairo is being stored at Ingalls Ship Yard, Pascagoula, Mississippi, However, due to a lack of space the vessel has been divided into two roughly equal sections. The boat is securely held together by the use of cranes, wires, and wooden props. The white oak timbers have undergone a water treatment for pre servation purposes. The metal portions of the boat have been sprayed with a protective paint, and they are being stored in a warehouse at the ship yard. PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Q Pre-Columbian | GH 16th Century 20th Century n 15th Century D 17th Century SPECIFIC DATEtsJ (If Applicable and Known) 1861-1862 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal | | Education Q Political [ j Prehistoric fl Engineering [U Religion/Phi d Historic [ j Industry losophy | [ Agriculture [ | Invention | | Science C~| Architecture (| Landscape I | Sculpture D Art Architecture I | Social/Human (~1 Commerce f~l Literature itarian [ | Communications ^] Military Q Theater | | Conservation D Music I | Transportation TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The 5,'JL'JL' Cairo was built at Mound City, Illinois, in the fall o f 186 1 ^ f o r the U > S. ArmyV and was commissioned January, 1862 * It was one of seven ironclad J^oat^ontr acted to James B. Eaxfs, who believed that the first and most important step in restoring the Union was to gain trol of the Lower Mississippi from the Confederacy. His. plan called for the construction of a fleet of gunboats for the government. The JJ.J3.S .. airo, the lightest and fastest of the seven Eads ironclads", was one of the h- first ironclad warships to be built in the western hemisphere. U The tr.j[.jS. Cairo had been active in the battle of Memphis and in of 186T participated in the campaign to take Vlcksburg. On Oc tober 1, 1862, it was transferred from the army to the navy. 1 £aTJtajLn Henry aj-ke/ who was commander of the Federal flotilla, was ordered to keep the uo azqo River clear of Southern forcesTr "Captain Walke received news, that the •z. Confederates had a timber barricade about twenty^three miles above the nouth of the Tazoo. After investigating this report, it was. discovered that the Confederates had laid a number of hidden mines (torpedoes) below LJJ the surface of the water. Captain TaTalke sent the^ Galro,' the Pltt sburg and 111 :he Queen of the ''feat to protect the Marmora and Signal while they destroy- id the mines. While on this mission, the Cairo was struck by two Confeder oo ate mines on December 12, 1862, about sixteen miles north of Vicksburg., Thus the Cairo became the fi^t victim of an electrically activated torpe- in naval history. " After the surrender of Vicksburg, Rear Admiral David Porter made everal attempts to raise the Cairo but was unsuccessful in locating the /essel. In 1880 J. H. Bofinger of Saint Louis, Missouri, was contracted >y the Treasury Department to salvage the Cairo ; however, this work was lever undertaken. Since the Tazoo River is one of the muddiest rivers in the count ry, the Cairo was hidden and submerged in about twenty feet of water for ilmost a hundred^ years. There had7 been /many rumors that, the boat had ex- >loded, or had already been raised. However, on November JL2U^ JL956 , the airo was located by Edwin C. Bearss, historian, Vicksburg National Mili- :ary Park, National Park Service, and Warren Grabau, geologist, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg. Plans were made for the boat ts raising rhich took almost three years. The vessel, raised in sections, was severe- .y damaged during the salvage operations. Bearas, Edwin C., Hardluck Ironclad. (Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State University: 1966). Bearss, Edwin C., "The Destruction of the Cairo," Journal of Mississippi History. XX111, 1961, 141-163. ———————————— Subject file, The £.£.S_. Cairo. Collections of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDJNATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGl TUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW 30 ° 21 ' 30 " 88 ° 33 ' 44 " NE SE APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: Approximately one-fourth acre ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR CO. rn m "Z. </» H 70 C NAME AND Tl TLE: Clinton I. Bagley, Junior Historian n ORGAN! ZATION DATE Mississippi Department of Archives and History 12/11/70 STREET AND NUMBER: 120 North State Street, P. 0. Box 571 CITY OR TOWN: Jackson Mississippi, 39205 .za. As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na I hereby certify that this property is included in the tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register. in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic PresenvatTonmatio level of significance of this nomination is: National Bate Name R. A. McLemore Title Director, Miss. Department of' Archives and History eper of Tfie National Register/ Bate 12/11/70 Form 10-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE (Dec. 1968) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Mississippi NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY Jackson INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER (Continuation Sheet) (Number all entries) 8. The Cairo's pilothouse and one of its cannons were salvaged on September 14, 196(>; by Ken Parks and James Hart, who helped to spearhead public interest ^n the project. Other valuable artifacts were recover ed during the various phases of salvage, including guns, the ship's bell, and assorted sailors' personal gear such as combs, toothbrushes and family photographs. These artifacts have been preserved by the National Park Service at the Vicksbiirg Military Park. At present, the basic structure of the ship is in storage at Ingalls Ship Yard, Pascagoula, Mississippi. Title to the Cairo is held by the Mississippi Agricultural and Industrial Board, which has sought cooperation from the National Park Service in securing the restoration of the boat. Legislation which gives the Department of the Interio the authority to restore and exhibit the Cairo has been intro duced in the 91st Congress by the Mississippi delegation. NP6 form 10-900-a 0MB Approval No. 10244018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Section number ___. Page USS CAIRO Jackson County to Warren County, MISSISSIPPI ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION Keeper (NEW LOCATION) STATE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Mississippi COUNTY NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Jackson PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with photograph) ::;:;:i::H::;:::~S:::::::::^^ s-:^:*:-:.:o:::::X;:::::::::::::::::.:^^ JCOMMON : TJ.S.S. lAND/OR HISTORIC: u STREET AND NUMBER: Ingalls Ship Yard r> CITY OR TOWN: 0£ Pascagoula I- <st Mississippi .-7 28 Jackson PHOTO cREDiT=T1hrary of congress, Division of Prints and Photo DATE OF PHOTO: 1861 Hi NEGATIVE FILED AT: UJ Library; _pf.