Hardluck Ironclad: The Sinking and Salvage of the Cairo

by Edwin C. Bearss

On the morning of December 12, 1862, the Union gunboat Cairo, nosing her way up the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, triggered two Confederate demijohn mines. Within minutes the 512-ton ironclad had sunk six fathoms to the muddy bottom with no loss of life -- the first armored war vessel ever downed by an electronically activated mine. A whole new era of naval warfare had begun.In Hardluck Ironclad Edwin Bearss tells how he and two other Civil War historians discovered the Cairo almost a century later -- still intact at the bottom of the Yazoo, her big guns loaded and ready to fire, much of the gear aboard just as it was that December morning when the crew abandoned her -- and how, almost miraculously, she was later salvaged and restored.

Genres: Civil War, History, Naval History

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1980

About the author

A specialist in the American Civil War, Edwin Cole Bearss was employed by the National Park Service, where he worked as their chief historian from 1981 until 1994.

Reviews

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned about the book, the U.S.S. Cairo and its salvage by watching the author on C-SPAN. The ship's recovery reminded me of some of Clive Cussler stories.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want to know how to salvage a Civil War ironclad from a fast moving river? Then Bearss' book is a must read if you are having the problem of salvaging a 140 year wreck. Hardluck Ironclad was engrossing and kept this reader reading. It is a short book but packed with information. If you have heard Bearss (Ken Burns' Civil War or History Channel's Civil War Journal) speak; his passion for the Civil War is readily apparent and translates well into the book. The first part of the book is a well constructed but brief History of the war on the Upper Mississippi and construction of the City Class Ironclad Gunboats or the Pook Turtles. Other books discuss this time period in exhaustive (meaning minute details that just bore the reader) details but Bearss' pacing and focus is a great example for other Historians or amateur historians attempting to write a history of a ship. The second half of the book is the salvage which he was a major part of. Bearss doesn't make himself the topic or focus of the salvage but the ship remained his focus. Bearss brings interesting facts about the ship and the people involved that made the salvage less technical and more human interest. Truly a great book about an note worthy ship.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a slam-bang action book about military history. Instead, it focuses much more on the nuts and bolts of what happens after. If you're interested in just the war part of the Civil War, then this is not the book for you. If you're interested in forensics, archeology and historical artifacts, then this book will be more up your alley. There are lots of descriptions of preservation techniques used in the 1960s, and a few of them were remarkably toxic.
In this case, the Cairo saw fairly limited military action during the Civil War, and was sunk by an explosive device going off under it. Due to a variety of reasons that are mostly explained within the book, the wreck was difficult to recover, and its location camouflaged well enough that the wreck was, um...misplaced for the better part of a century.
Once it was found, the historians and would-be salvagers found a wonderful array of problems to be found when trying to bring an oddly-designed ship to the surface out of a very muddy river.
Overall, not a standard work of Civil War history, but certainly interesting, and with a great collection of photos of artifacts and of people related to the story of the Cairo.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

My shipmodeling club has used this book as a reference source for our building of the “Cairo’s” sister ship, the “USS St. Louis.” This (autographed) copy was loaned to me by a friend of the author, who was in charge of the raising and salvage operations of the “Cairo.”
The book is informally divided into two parts. The first tells of the construction of the “Cairo” and its six sister ships at the beginning of the Civil War. The “Cairo” and two others were built at Mound City, Illinois, and the other four at the Carondelet Boat Works in south St. Louis. They were designed by James B. Eads, an engineer whose most famous work is the still-standing Eads Bridge joining St. Louis and Illinois. Their purpose, as shallow-draft, heavily armored paddlewheel riverboats, was to defend the lower Mississippi River from Confederate forces, and as such were involved in a good many battles all along that river and its southern tributaries. But I’m getting ahead of myself: I found myself drawn in and fascinated in reading the descriptions of the bureaucratic haggling and budget conflicts before the boats were even built, as well as during their construction. Egos, money, political maneuvering and corruption seem to be “de rigeur” for wartime, and this project was no exception. Eads even had trouble getting paid by the Government for several months, which slowed down the building of the boats. And, while perhaps relatively small for some wartime craft, they were still 175 feet long and 51 feet wide, but with only a six-foot draft. The crew numbered some 170 or so, making for quite cramped quarters and a need for precise choreography for those manning the cannons during battle.
The battles and locations are laid out on an extremely helpful map of the “Lower Mississippi and its Tributaries,” spanning New Orleans to Paducah to forts in Tennessee and Kentucky. While the “Cairo” sustained damage several times, she always returned to service, but was eventually sunk by a Confederate mine on the Yazoo River just north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in December of 1862.
The second half of the book is dedicated to the location, raising, salvaging and preservation efforts, with the original “Cairo” currently on display in Vicksburg. Again, the sheer numbers of very talented engineers, barge captains, divers and experienced naval salvage operators is very impressive, as is the patience and fortitude displayed by all. The only criticism of this book I would have is a very long chapter, “Salvaging a Civil War Ironclad,” in which the process of placing multiple cables under the wreck in attempts to raise her intact, while intriguing, seemed to go on and on; a shorter narrative covering the process would, I believe, have been more interesting, at least to the lay reader. Nonetheless, after the raising (in three pieces, as it unfortunately turned out), the process of preserving the wood that had laid at the bottom of the river for a century was well-described as both frustrating and exhilarating. Both during and after the raising, many, many artifacts, ordinary objects, ordnance and ammunition and items linking to individual members of the crew were obtained, which lent an air of humanity to the whole proceeding.
I very much enjoyed this book, especially as it helped my understanding of our “USS St. Louis” replica. Looking forward to a trip to Vicksburg in the vague future to visit the exhibit. Recommended for Civil War buffs, and those interested in naval salvage and the like. Very informative. Five stars, even with that overlong chapter.

[Andrew Chmyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! First it's by Edwin Bearss. I met him at the Gettysburg Visitors center and for someone so well known in the Civil War history circles he was very courteous and friendly to a rank beginner. (Me of course!) The story of the recovery of the river ironclad USS Cairo is fascinating. So much of the technology in use today for locating and exploring historic wrecks was in it's infancy when Mr. Bearss and a small team set out to find the Cairo. Actually finding her and then recovering this fascinating piece of American history is something well worth reading.

[Pete Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about finding an ironclad and figuring out how to raise it from a fast-moving river. Author does a great job of reviewing the service history of the Cairo, and how it came to hit a mine. The real action is in all the tribulations they went through to get the wreck out of the water. What an amazing dude Bearss was, have enjoyed all his books so far!

[Phillip Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine book on the history of the river ironclad the “ Cairo” and how she was sunk and then raised 100 years later.
I just saw her in Vicksburg and they did a great job!

[Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author uses the word "chuffed". And" last" as in the common shape of shoe during the Civil War but shoes found on the Cairo had left and right

[David Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this once before and liked. Gotta respect Ed Bearss. Have to take a trip to Vicksburg to see this boat sometime!!