USS Cairo gets a much-needed deep cleaning at Vicksburg. The hope is one day the ironclad removed from the Yazoo River will be moved inside to safeguard its future

A conservator studies the white oak and yellow pine used in construction (NPS photo)

The first step in ensuring long-term protection of the remnants of USS Cairo, the first armored vessel sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo, has included the removal of 555 pounds of dirt and debris – and counting.

Terra Mare Conservation has been at Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi since September, conducting dry and wet cleaning of the canopy-covered Union vessel. Park officials say it’s the first time in more than a decade the vessel has undergone “critically needed cleaning and conservation work.”

Superintendent Carrie A. Mardorf told the Picket in an email that nothing is being rebuilt or replaced. “The NPS is taking a strictly preservation approach to the gunboat.”

Terra Mare also is repairing and stabilizing any damaged areas of the white oak and yellow pine used in construction. Corrosion on the bow and cannons is being treated and paint is being touched up.

The Cairo and accompanying museum officially opened in 1980 (NPS)

The ironclad sank in the Yazoo River on Dec. 12, 1862, after it struck a floating Confederate mine. It went down in 12 minutes. Recovered in the 1960s, the Cairo has been a popular draw at the Civil War park since the late 1970s.

The park has posted a couple updates on Facebook, prompting some commenters to ask why the famed wreck is not in a building, away from the elements..

“Enclosing the USS Cairo in an interior setting with climate control is ultimately the best way to preserve the boat for future generations,” Mardorf told the Picket. “All of the recent science and studies that the park has completed in the past year recommend protecting the gunboat with an interior enclosure; however, doing so would require specialized construction funding.”

Congress is currently considering reauthorization of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), she said. “If renewed, GAOA may provide some funding for the long-term preservation of the USS Cairo.”

Recent work on the site and vacuum bags containing dirt and debris (NPS)

For now, conservators are giving the warship TLC and a top-to-bottom cleaning, removing dirt, dust, pollen, rodent and bird nests, bird guano and trash.

“The biggest surprise thus far has been the amount of dirt removed. As Terra Mare cleans, they are learning a lot more about the condition of the wood and metals, which will be summarized in a final report for the park,” said Mardorf.

The team this week is cleaning the metal pilot house and boilers.

Work is expected to conclude in mid-November. Further temporary closures of the exhibit are possible to protect the public from airborne particles.

The USS Cairo has been treated with a variety of chemical sprays and coatings since the 1970s. Additional studies will be carried out to determine if fungal and insect infestations are present, according to a park summary of the project. “Long-term, the park will embark on a regular, cyclic cleaning and conservation schedule for the ship.”

Mardorf says all of what the public sees is original, with the exception of the 1980s Glulam structure that holds the boat in place.  

The end comes in the Yazoo River above Vicksburg

The USS Cairo’s fame has far exceeded its brief history. Built in a hurry in Mound City, Ill., and commissioned in January 1862, the ironclad sank only 11 months later.

The USS Cairo at anchor in 1862 (Library of Congress)

At 175 feet long and with a top speed of six knots, the vessel carried 13 guns and 251 officers and men. Seven shallow-draft City Class river ironclads prowled the Mississippi River and connecting shallow waterways, menacing Confederate supply lines and shore batteries, the National Park Service says.

The Cairo saw limited action at Plum Point (Fort Pillow), Tenn., in May 1862 and Memphis the following month. Before the Federal attack on Haynes Bluff, Cairo skipper Lt. Cmdr. Thomas O. Selfridge Jr. (below) led a small flotilla of gunboats into the hazardous confines of the Yazoo River on Dec. 12, 1862.

“Tasked with destroying Confederate batteries and clearing the river of torpedoes (underwater mines) the flotilla inched its way up the murky waters. As the Cairo reached a point seven miles north of Vicksburg the flotilla came under fire and the aggressive Selfridge ordered his guns to the ready and called for full steam, bringing the ironclad into action,” the NPS says.

“Seconds later, disaster struck. Cairo was rocked by two explosions in quick succession. The first tore and gaping hole into the port (left) bow of the wooden hulled ironclad. The second detonated a moment later near the armored belt amidships on the starboard side. The hole on the bow proved to be catastrophic.”

Selfridge ordered the Cairo to be beached and the crew to abandon ship. The Cairo slid from the river bank into 36 feet of water with no loss of life. About a half dozen sailors were injured.

Mud protected the ironclad for almost 100 years

The ill-fated ironclad disappeared into history for nearly a century.

Using maps and an old military compass, the legendary Ed Bearss, a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park at the time, and two comrades found the mud-encased ironclad in 1956.

Despite financial shortfalls, barge problems and a zero-visibility river that deposited silt at an alarming rate, the vessel was eventually raised in 1960 and 1964-65.

A portion of the casemate rests on a barge in the Yazoo River (NPS)

Hopes of lifting the ironclad and her cargo of artifacts intact were crushed in October 1964 when the three-inch cables being used to lift the Cairo cut deeply into its wooden hull. It then became a question of saving as much of the vessel as possible. The decision was made to recover the USS Cairo in three sections.

Barges carried the remnants to Pascagoula, Ms. The wreck was moved in 1977 to the Vicksburg park, where it was partially reconstructed and placed on a concrete foundation.

The recovery of artifacts revealed a trove of weapons, munitions, naval stores, and personal property that help tell the story of the sailors that once called the ship home, according to the NPS.

Remembering the versatile and passionate Ed Bearss: The public is invited to June celebration of life in Gettysburg

Bearss and former University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley (Georgia Battlefields Assn.)

The public is invited to Gettysburg, Pa., for a celebration of life for renowned Civil War historian, battlefield guide and preservationist Edwin Cole Bearss, who died in September 2020 at age 97.

The American Battlefield Trust announced that the Bearss family has invited people to attend the 1 p.m. June 26 celebration – what would have been Bearss’ 99^th birthday -- on land the trust preserved near the Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, a nonprofit venue on the campus of the United Lutheran Seminary.

Speakers include retired Marine Corps  Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills; Jerome A. Greene, retired historian for the National Park Service; and O. James Lighthizer, president emeritus of the American Battlefield Trust.  

Bearss was a legendary figure in the Civil War world. Tour participants hung on his every word as he walked the grounds and gave precise details of what happened there, usually without notes. His voice, itself riveting, was described as thunderous or booming.

As "History's Pied Piper," he more than lived up to the title of Jack Waugh's 2003 biography of the decorated Marine Corps veteran and National Park Service chief historian emeritus.

The American Battlefield Trust detailed his career as a decorated Marine severely wounded during World War II, National Park Service historian, author, preservationist and lecturer. Commenters on the trust’s Facebook page this week remembered his tours and knowledge of battles to exacting detail.

Bearss gained fame for the discovery and raising of the USS Cairo in the 1960s, when he was historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. The majority of the public came to know him from his appearance in Ken Burns' 1990 “The Civil War” series on PBS.

The widower, after living 50 years in Arlington, Va., moved in 2018 to Mississippi, where he had family (Above, in Athens, Ga., in 2019. Photo courtesy of Georgia Battlefields Association.)

The American Battlefield Trust said the one-hour June 26 event will be tented, with seating available and water and light refreshments provided. Portable toilets and indoor restrooms will be nearby. 

Click this link for an email address in which you can express your intention to attend. For those unable to attend in person, a video of the celebration will be posted later.

Remembering Ed Bearss: Marine veteran, Civil War historian, author, speaker and one-of-a-kind Pied Piper of the battlefield

Bearss at Allatoona Pass, Ga., in 2010 (Georgia Battlefields Association)

Whether leading a battlefield tour, giving a lecture or appearing on Ken Burns’ 1990 PBS miniseries “The Civil War,” historian Ed Bearss commanded attention.

Edwin Cole Bearss, who died Tuesday at age 97, was a legendary figure in the Civil War world. Tour participants hung on his every word as he walked the grounds and gave precise details of what happened there, usually without notes. His voice, itself riveting, was described as thunderous or booming.

The historian incredibly led tours until late last year, when it became evident his health would not permit him to continue. Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the Picket then that no other expert could emulate Bearss.

The American Battlefield Trust this week detailed his career as a decorated Marine severely wounded during World War II, National Park Service historian, author, preservationist and lecturer. Among his accomplishments with the NPS was the discovery and raising of the USS Cairo in the 1960s, when Bearss was historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. 

The Picket asked Crawford for a memory relating to Bearss. Here is his response:

(American Battlefield Trust)

"As you know, stories about Ed are legion. Jack Waugh's 2003 biography of Ed is titled "History's Pied Piper," and we witnessed this effect many times in the years that Ed led Georgia Battlefields Association tours and when we would attend American Battlefield Trust events where Ed led tours.

In the last few years, Ed asked that we request a wheelchair and meet him at the airport arrival gate when he came to Atlanta to lead one of our tours. Ed realized he was having trouble navigating the crowded airport corridors, even though he didn't use a wheelchair when he was on a battlefield.

At Utoy Creek in 2018 (GBA)

Bill (-----) usually had the task -- more of an honor than a task -- of meeting Ed, and Ed would often engage the wheelchair attendant in conversation while transiting from the gate to baggage claim. Ed's knowledge would amuse and amaze the attendant, and Bill would notice that other travelers would adjust their pace so that they could hear what Ed was saying.

Of course, they didn't have to be too close to Ed because he had a "trumpet voice," to use his own characterization. So the crowd around Ed would grow as he transited. Some people would approach Bill at baggage claim and ask the identity of the man in the wheelchair and how it was that he knew so much.

Occasionally, someone would recognize Ed and ask if he remembered a tour they were on years ago. Of course, he always did and usually responded with an anecdote about that specific tour. He truly was a pied piper."

Bearss, after living 50 years in Arlington, Va., had recently moved to Mississippi, where he has family, according to the trust and the funeral home in Pearl handling his arrangements.

Legendary Civil War historian Ed Bearss would love to get letters from those touched by his dedication to history, publisher says

Bearrs with former Georgia football coach Vince Dooley in 2009 (Georgia Battlefields Assn.)

[Sept. 17 update: Ed Bearss dies at 97]

Well into his 90s, Ed Bearss roamed Civil War battlefields, a stream of devotees hanging on to every word as the expert described what happened on that particular piece of hallowed ground.

As "History's Pied Piper," Edwin Cole Bearss has more than lived up to the title of Jack Waugh’s 2003 biography of the decorated Marine Corps veteran and National Park Service chief historian emeritus.

But Bearss now is no longer physically able to participate in tours, according to his publisher. Nearing 97, the gravel-voiced legend spends his time at his Virginia residence, according to Tom Broadfoot, whose publishing company has published numerous works written or edited by Bearss.  

[Updated Jan. 18 and 20: The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, said it wanted to tamp down concerns about Bearss' health, saying the historian this week spoke with CEO Keven Walker. "He was great; preparing for a trip and in good spirits," says the group. "The two are looking forward to getting together in a couple of weeks for their annual winter meeting, so things are business as usual. Ed appreciates the concern but would want everyone to know that he is just as ornery as ever and doing fine." Broadfoot later said he stands by his message.] 

In a message this week, Broadfoot asked fans of Bearss to send him letters, which Bearss’ caregiving daughter says “make his day.” Her father is hard of hearing, so phone calls and visits are not beneficial. Memories and photographs are.

“If your interest is the Civil War, Ed has contributed greatly to your interest,” the publisher wrote.

Broadfoot asked people to write to Bearss about books he authored, or a tour or speech he gave, or just to thank him for his service to his country and the NPS. Among his accomplishments with the agency was the discovery and raising of the USS Cairo in the 1960s, when Bearss was historian at Vicksburg National Military Park. The majority of the public came to know him from his appearance in Ken Burns' 1990 “The Civil War” series on PBS.

The historian is “the man whom people follow to learn about history in a way that no person or book or map or video or other medium can emulate,” says Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association.

Several Facebook pages devoted to the Civil War included fond remarks this week about his remarkable memory and presentations, with a touch of wistfulness as Bearrs steps back.

One commenter on Civil War Pittsburgh’s page wrote: "The man never used notes! He remembers everything! If you were on any of his tours you were lucky. We've been blessed with his wisdom, character and good humor."

Author and historian Eric J. Wittenberg posted Broadfoot's email on Wednesday.

"Rarely has one person who was not an emperor or entertainer touched the lives of so many people, one Facebook commenter on that page posted. "A true national treasure."

Another person wrote: "About 15 years ago, Ed gave me the best advice about the best way to learn about CW battles. He told me, 'Walk the ground little lady, walk the ground!’ That has served me well for many years."

In Athens, Ga., in March 2019 (GBA)

A 2005 Smithsonian Magazine article captured part of his spirit and panache:

"As he talks, Bearss marches back and forth, brandishing a silver-headed swagger stick, tucking it from time to time under his withered left arm -- a casualty of a bullet at a battlefield on the other side of the world in 1944. He keeps his eyes tightly closed while he lectures, and he later tells me that way he can see the events of 1863 unfolding before him."

Crawford told the Picket that Bearrs, known for his booming voice, led GBA’s March 2019 tour. The guide cut back on such appearances later in the year because of limitations, Crawford said.

In 2014, Crawford was interviewed for the documentary, “American Journey: The Life and Times of Ed Bearss.” The program concluded with this statement: Ed Bearss is sui generis -- one of a kind.

Letters, in 12 to 14 point or equivalent, can be sent to Bearss, who probably will not reply or sign books. Send them to Ed Bearss, 1126 17^th St. S, Arlington, Va. 22202