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SAILORS OF THE U.S.S. CAIRO: ANATOMY OF A GUNBOAT CREW David F. Riggs It was a cool, cloudy morning when the gunboat U.S.S. Cairo kept her rendezvous with history. On December 12, 1862, she steamed up the Yazoo River just north of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Shortly before noon the Confederates torpedoed and sank the ironclad, giving her the ignominious distinction of being the first combat vessel sunk by this novel form of weaponry. Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter lamented that the Cairo was "one of my best ironclads."1 Although Lieutenant Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr., was criticized for his impetuosity which resulted in the Cairo's loss, no one found fault with the discipline he instilled in his crew. The ill-fated gunboat sank in twelve minutes, but, miraculously, no lives were lost. As water flooded into the vessel, there was a calm, concerted effort to run her aground before Selfridge acknowledged that itwas futile and issued the order to abandon ship.2 The Cairo crew, which numbered 159 men (excluding officers), fit the description of historian John D. Milligan, who characterized the inland navy as "a rather heterogeneous group." In some instances crew members fell neatly into the stereotyped picture of the common Civil War sailor; in others, they were exceptions to the rule. From the time of the crew's assembly to the sinking of their vessel, they typified the amalgamation of diverse elements with a common purpose, namely, the conquest of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.3 In the early months of the war, it was no easy task manning boats for riverine warfare. Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote found himself commanding twelve gunboats without crews. This fleet included the seven city class ironclads constructed by James B. Eads: the Carondelet, 1 Edwin C. Bearss, Hardluck Ironclad: The Sinking and Su/uugc of the Cairo (Baton Rouge, 1980), pp. 98-99; David Dixon Porter, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (New York, 1885), p. 127. 2 Bearss, Hardluck Ironckd, p. 100. 3 Muster Roll, U.S.S. Cairo, 1 Oct. 1862, National Archives, Washington, D.C. (cited hereafter as Muster Roll); John D. Milligan, Gunboats Down the Mississippi (Annapolis, 1965), p. 27. Civil War History, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3Copyright© 1982 by The Kent State University Press 0009-8078/82/2803-0004 $01.00/0 U.S.S. CAIRO267 Cairo, Cincinnati, Louisville, Mound City, Pittsburg, and St. Louis (later called Baron de Kalb). Foote's gunboats collectively formed the Western Flotilla.4 The flotilla's southward movement down the Mississippi River, and even its organization, was complicated because it was assigned to army command. By late October 1861, Foote had obtained only 100 men, and the Navy Department objected to his recruiting stations along the Great Lakes because it deprived the navy of experienced sailors for oceanic vessels. In November he received nearly 500 men who were sent by rail from Washington, D.C., but 1100 more were needed still. Two small parties arrived in December from the Great Lakes. Mid-January 1862 found Foote advising Navy Secretary Gideon Welles that with all his gunboats to be commissioned in approximately a week, he would be obliged to man them at one-third strength. Not until February 4 did Foote receive the surprising good news that his manpower problems were over. Six hundred seafaring men in Massachusetts regiments were slated for transfer to the midwestern navy.5 Foote assigned recruits to gunboats as rapidly as possible. The Cairo was among the earliest of the Eads ironclads to obtain its full complement , being sworn into naval service on January 25, 1862, in what one member described as "a very impressive manner." The crewmen became combat veterans that spring at Plum Point and Memphis. Late summer witnessed the arrival of Selfridge as the vessel's third captain, and in October the Western Flotilla became known as the Mississippi Squadron when it was placed under direct naval rather than army command .6 Selfridge did not join the Cairo alone. He brought 17 sailors from the U.S.S. Alligator with him, and these men were integrated with the existing crew. TheAlligator, an experimental submarine, received anegative...

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