 USS Cairo at anchor
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Cairo |
| Namesake | City of Cairo, Illinois |
| Operator |  US Army |
| Ordered | August(?) 1861 |
| Builder | James Eads and Company, Mound City, Illinois |
| Laid down | 1861 |
| Launched | 1861 |
| Commissioned | 25 January 1862 |
| Fate | Transferred to the US Navy |
| United States | |
| Name | Cairo |
| Commissioned | 1 October 1862 |
| Fate | Sunk by mine, 12 December 1862 |
| Status | Raised, 1964, museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | City-class ironclad |
| Tonnage | 512 |
| Length | 175 ft (53.3 m) |
| Beam | 51 ft 2 in (15.6 m) |
| Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Installed power | 5 fire-tube boilers |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Complement | 251 officers and enlisted men |
| Armament | (see section below) |
| Armor |
|
USS Cairo | |
   | |
| Coordinates | 32°22′33″N 90°52′0″W / 32.37583°N 90.86667°W |
| Built | 1861 |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000068 |
| Added to NRHP | 3 September 1971 |
USS Cairo /ˈkeɪroʊ/ is the lead ship of the City-class casemate ironclads built at the beginning of the American Civil War to serve as river gunboats.
Cairo is named for Cairo, Illinois. In June 1862, she captured the Confederate garrison of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, enabling Union forces to occupy Memphis. As part of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, she was sunk on 12 December 1862, while clearing mines for the attack on Haines Bluff. Cairo was the first ship ever to be sunk by a mine remotely detonated by hand.
The remains of Cairo can be viewed at Vicksburg National Military Park with a museum of its weapons and naval stores.