The Sinking of Cairo

On December 12, 1862, on the Yazoo River, a Confederate torpedo tore open Cairo's bow, and the Union gunboat sank in 12 minutes. Cairo became the first armored warship sunk by an electrically detonated mine. The torpedo that sank Cairo was a crude apparatus. Lieutenant Commander Selfridge may have been less than cautious in waters known to contain torpedoes because so many of the Confederate weapons had been duds. Two Confederate sailors, Acting Masters Zedekiah McDaniel and Francis M. Ewing, had charge of placing the torpedoes. Volunteers, whose names are lost to history, hid behind the river bank and detonated the explosive with an electric charge. The damage from the blast can be seen on the port bow.

Vicksburg, Mississippi · United States