Friday, March 26, 2010
More about Vicksburg Battlefield National Park on March 23
USS Cairo
Before the siege of the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, the Union
side in the Civil War was trying to carry supplies south of the
city in order to supply the troops before they mounted another
campaign on the city, the capture of which was proving to be a difficult, if not
impossible, task. They employed seven city-class ironclad warships
that were specifically designed for river travel to attempt the passage
past the guns on shore protecting the city. The USS Cairo was sunk in
its attempt, disappearing in the waters of the river in 12 minutes on
December 12th, 1862.
One hundred two years later it was found and raised and then, later
restored as much as possible to be the only surviving example of this
type of ironclad warship which resembled nothing more than an iron
shed floating on a raft. The restoration utilizes a process called
ghosting where the surviving parts of the ship are supported by
laminated beams showing the original outline of the vessel and also
replacing missing parts.
The pictures show a photo of the original ship with the crew, various
views of the restored ship with the original wood, iron on the front
and ghosting beams.
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