U.S.S. Cairo: The Story of a Civil War Gunboat Comprising a Narrative of Her Wartime Adventures by Virgil Carrington Jones, and an Account of Her Raising in 1964 by — Background and Themes

tarting four of the vessels at the Carondelet Marine Ways on the outskirts of St. Louis, and three at the Marine Railway and Ship Yard at Mound City, Ill. Labor troubles set in early. Although wages were comparable with rates prior to the war, workers threatened to strike for more money. The contractor in the meantime advertised for additional boat carpenters, offering to pay $2 per 10-hour day and 25 cents per hour overtime.

By the end of August, Eads had about 600 men and 12 sawmills at work on the seven hulls. The first estimate of work done, submitted to the Government on August 27, amounted to $58,315 and was accompanied by a statement that the smallness of the sum did not mean that matters were not being pushed with vigor. In mid-September, when Eads sent in a second estimate, he complained of not having received even $1 on a contract involving an outlay of nearly $700,000. He said that, despite the inconvenience brought upon him by the Government, he was still confident he could fulfill his contract. Newspapers came to his defense, reporting that, without any money in advance, he had 800 workmen on the two jobs, as well as one steamboat and four barges engaged in transporting lumber from sawmills in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky, and along the Missouri River. But even the reporters inspecting the work doubted that the vessels would be ready on schedule.

The first boat was launched October 12, two days late. It came down the runway at Carondelet in the presence of a large crowd and was promptly named the _Carondelet_. It was mid-January before the _Cairo_ was commissioned. By that time, the Western Flotilla had come under the command of Andrew H. Foote, formerly commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and a veteran of 40 years’ service in the Navy. It was Foote who decided that the ironclads would be named for cities and towns along the Ohio and upper Mississippi Rivers, and not for Union military leaders, as Eads had proposed.

As an aftermath of the campaign to get the ironclads built, Eads made claims against the Government for failing to make prompt payments on estimates, maintaining this had delayed completion of the contract. Moreover, he charged that the numerous changes Foote had insisted upon had added materially to his costs, for which he wished to be reimbursed, and had delayed the delivery date. In return, the Government made claims against the builder for tardiness in delivering the boats. Finally, a member of the Quartermaster General’s staff was assigned to make a study of the contract, and the subsequent report led to a satisfactory settlement without penalty upon either party.

The _Cairo’s_ first captain was 39-year-old Lt. Nathaniel Bryant, member of a Maine shipbuilding family and formerly assigned to the steam sloop _Richmond_. The commissioning of the new vessel took place on January 16. She was newly painted and her decks had been holystoned (scrubbed) until, as one member of the crew recorded, they were as white as linen sheets. Everything was snug and clean from top to bottom. On board were 14 guns, ranging from rifled 42-pounders to a 12-pounder howitzer.

In the beginning, the _Cairo’s_ engines failed to function properly, and she was taken to an anchorage near Cairo for repairs. While lying there with a skeleton crew, news was received of the Union victory scored by ironclads at Fort Henry. The story was different at Fort Donelson, where Foote’s gunboats were mauled by Confederate shore batteries, but the _Cairo_ men complained because they had been unable to take part in either affair.

On February 16, a month after her commissioning, Foote ordered the _Cairo_ to the Cumberland River. As she moved up the Ohio, she met a steamboat bringing news that Fort Donelson had surrendered. Her crew did more grumbling, fearing the war would end before they had a chance to fire at the enemy.

Following a conference between Foote and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commanding at Fort Donelson, the _Cairo_, with the _Conestoga_, was ordered on a reconnaissance to Clarksville, Tenn. Along the way they passed Forts Defiance and Clark, both of them abandoned and flying white flags of surrender. At Clarksville they found the Confederates had also evacuated that point.

The _Cairo_ remained at Clarksville on a standby basis for several days and then was ordered to Nashville, where she arrived on February 25, again to find that the Confederates had gone. She lay idle in the Cumberland for several weeks; then she was ordered to the Tennessee River, reaching Savannah, Tenn., where Grant had his headquarters, on the evening of March 31.