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.

Until these Civil War Enfield rifles are conserved, they will stay in an aquarium tank at a Georgia state park. Here's how specialists gently clean the exhibit

DNR team removes water and gently cleans Enfield rifles (Danielle Grau/Sweetwater Creek State Park)

Items you might find in a garage or utility shed turn out to be handy tools when protecting precious artifacts that help tell the story of the Civil War.

A team with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources this week used a garden hose, small pump, spray nozzle and a wet-dry vacuum to clean and refill a 300-gallon aquarium tank that holds -- of all things -- 18 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles.

Josh Headlee, curator and historic preservation specialist with the DNR, has done the task a couple times a year since 2013. He travels to Sweetwater Creek State Park in Douglas County, Ga., west of Atlanta. (Surprised visitors to the museum there ask where the weapons were found and why they are in water, says park clerk Danielle Grau.)

The water is siphoned out of the tank to a sink (Danielle Grau)

The English-made rifles were carried by a Confederate blockade runner and lost when it hit a sandbar and sank in Charleston, S.C, in 1863. They were recovered from the wreckage of the CSS Stono in the late 1980s.

Headlee says the rare guns remain in a state of limbo as they await conservation, with the goal of exhibiting them out of water. Removing harmful corrosive salts from their time in the ocean and using fresh-cycled water in the tank keep them stable.

Unfortunately, the iron rifle barrels, locks and bayonets are heavily deteriorated or gone. A tin and lead lining that sealed the cargo from salt air and ensured the rifles were not tampered with likewise is in bad condition. The trigger guards, butt plates and nose caps at the end of the barrels are made brass and still intact.

Matt Sanford, Josh Snead and Josh Headlee clean interior (Danielle Grau)

We asked Headlee to describe the cleaning of the tank. This week, he worked with DNR archaeologist Matt Sanford and Josh Snead, a field interpreter for Georgia State Parks. All the photos were taken by Grau.

WHY THEY CLEAN THEM: The staff at Sweetwater keeps Headlee up on the condition and clarity of the tank, and he cleans it about twice a year. The main purpose is to remove algae, sediment or muck that could further harm the rifles, metal lining and the exterior crate. Headlee makes sure the aquarium pump and filter are working property. “The most important thing is to keep the water moving.”

PUMP IT UP AND OUT: The team uses a garden hose and transfer pump to draw the water out before the gentle cleaning. “There are no high-tech gadgets we are using,” says Headlee. “How do we get the water out, how do we get the water back in.” The removal takes about an hour.

Brass rifle butts after draining, the weapons during refilling (Danielle Grau)

NEXT STEP: The team used a sprayer and wet-dry vacuum to remove any debris; no cleaning agents are used. We use a “light spray to get any type of algae off.” They don’t scrub the rifles or the other contents, but do use soft-bristle brushes and towels on the glass. Over the years, they find less debris. Early on, Headlee used a colander to sift wood and metal for examination back at the lab. He notes that the malleable tin lining will pose the biggest conservation challenge. “I am not sure what we will be able to do.”

THE GREAT REFILL: After lunch, the team removed any remaining debris and begins filling the tank after brushing the sides. They turned the water off a few times in the filling process to make sure the filter pump was going to work properly and not leak. A fungicide was added. The water refilling took close to 1.5 hours.

Josh Headlee takes a close look during the tank refilling (Danielle Grau)

FINIS! The work is done by late afternoon and the visibility is markedly improved, to the benefit of the rifles and visitors. Headlee says it is even better the following day because of settling and the dissolving of the fungicide.

Getting the artifacts out of water and through conservation will save maintenance, time and effort, says Headlee. Two rifles were removed from the tank in 2022 to test a wood preservative. They are being held in fresh water at another state facility.

There’s no timetable for the conservation work, with other projects at the front of the line. Still, he is hopeful.

“They are not forgotten by any means,” he said.

USS Monitor: Navy recognizes Virginia museum for cleaning of ironclad's two Dahlgren guns, which are still being conserved

Erik Farrell uses special drill in Dahlgren bore in early 2020 (Mariners' Museum and Park)

The conservation team that cleaned the inside of the 13-foot guns of the USS Monitor has been recognized with a maintenance excellence award from the U.S. Navy and a video showcasing the exacting work that involved precision tools and a whole lot of muck.

The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) awarded the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va., a Pennant of Excellence for helping to preserve the heritage of the armed service.

In February and March 2020, the conservators removed the last concretion from inside the barrels of the smoothbore 11-inch Dahlgren guns.

They used a special drill and spade bit to remove the hardened mix of sediment and sea life. The weapons were inside the USS Monitor turret that was raised from the Atlantic Ocean floor in 2002 and have been in their own treatment tanks since 2004.

The first gun yielded pieces of crab, seashells and coal while the second held a bolt. Neither contained the remains of a cat that legend holds was stuffed into a barrel by a sailor moments before the USS Monitor sank on Dec. 31, 1862.

Once conservation is complete, the two guns will go on display. They will help tell the story of the innovative warship that tangled with the CSS Virginia in March 1862 – the first battle between ironclads.

"The guns still require additional work. Desalination has to be completed, followed by removal of the treatment solution, controlled drying, and the application of different coatings to strengthen and protect the guns,” Erik Farrell, an archaeological conservator, said in a statement to the Picket.

“Because of the fragility of the material, the guns cannot be dried until an environmentally controlled case is available. Funding dependent, the remainder of the conservation process is expected to take around three years," he said.

Farrell is among those showcased in the new video, which was produced by the museum and SoundVision Studios. It shows the boring process and includes interviews with those involved.

The museum team and Master Machine & Tool of Newport News built a custom boring apparatus and cradle support to clean the bores. The barrels had between 1" and 3" thickness of concretion covering them all the way down the bore and forward to the muzzle -- hence the need to clean the inside of the 8-ton guns and help remove harmful ocean salts.    

In 2018, Farrell and others traveled to a Naval History and Heritage Command facility to look at a similar Dahlgren -- one used by the USS Kearsarge, the sloop of war famous for sinking the Confederate raider CSS Alabama off Cherbourg, France, in 1864.

They were able to measure the interior of the gun and learned both the Monitor and Kearsarge barrels -- which were made at the same foundry – were built to a specific Board of Ordnance pattern. The measurements would help crews know exactly how far down to drill without causing damage.

(Photo at left: One of the Dahlgrens in its treatment tank. The Picket took this photo during a visit a few years ago)

During the project in early 2020, water was pushed inside the barrels as the drilling did its magic, forcing sediment and muck out. “Sludge in this operation is a sign of success,” said one speaker in the eight-minute video. The effort included chiseling hard material to see what was inside.

The NHHC maintenance award is presented to nonprofits that demonstrate the greatest improvement in an artifact’s conditions over the past year.

Conservators with the pennant honoring their work (Mariners' Museum and Park)

“Private museums are critical in telling the Navy story, and this award recognizes The Mariners’ Museum and its Conservation team as a force multiplier in informing the public of our Navy’s history,” NHHC Director Samuel Cox said in a press release. “Their efforts honor those that have served as they continue to inspire and educate our next generation.”

Conserving the thousands of recovered items is not work for those who want instant results.

The process can take anywhere from months to years. The turret, which has been in a treatment tank for nearly two decades, needs another 10-15 years of conservation to draw all the salts out, officials say.

The museum has a blog with posts by USS Monitor conservators about the ongoing work to prepare artifacts for possible display. Click here to see posts about the boring and the turret.

One of the barrels before the boring project (Mariners' Museum and Park)

Vandalism? Nope. That dark material at Gettysburg's Arkansas monument was actually the byproduct of regular cleaning

During and after first pressure washing on July 23 (NPS photos)

Gettysburg National Military Park has a suggestion to visitors after a misunderstanding this week: If you think you have seen an act of vandalism, tell us about it first before you put photos on social media.

That occurred when some people who saw a dark-colored substance on the Arkansas Memorial posted images on Facebook, saying it was vandalism, said park acting public affairs officer Jason Martz.

In a news release, the park said monument preservation staff had sprayed a biological cleaning solution, known as D2, at the memorial on Wednesday afternoon as rain began falling.

“This biological cleaning solution requires the surface to be cleaned to be wet before application and passing summer rains provide a perfect opportunity to quickly and effectively begin this process. The solution was allowed to set up overnight and monument preservation staff began cleaning the memorial the following morning on July 23,” Martz said.

Staff uses biological agent before second washing (NPS photo)

Monument maintenance targets mold, algae and lichens on the stone. Those growths turn different colors as they are being killed. “When the reds, yellows, and oranges mix over time, the overall color turns very dark. This is what was reported as vandalism by park visitors.”

Repeated applications clean such monuments, and any residual staining will be bleached out by the sun within a few days.

It appears photos posted on social media were taken between the application of the solution and the pressure washing the next day. Martz told the Civil War Picket a Facebook page that had a post alleging vandalism took the item down.

The park, while acknowledging public interest in protecting monuments, said concerned visitors should email staffers by email via the “Contact Us” link on its website, send a direct message on the Facebook page or contact any park employee they may see.

Cleaning these monuments a tall order

Excelsior (photo), who tops the New York State Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park, will get a little more TLC in June during preservation maintenance on three tall monuments.

The Gettysburg Foundation is covering the cost of renting a 150-foot lift.

The New York State Memorial, dedicated in 1893, is about 90 feet tall and is in the Soldiers' National Cemetery. Park staff repaired and cleaned the bronze figure of Excelsior last summer. The aerial platform will allow staff to steam-clean the stone work on the entire monument and apply another coat of wax to the bronze.

The approximately 55-foot Vermont State Memorial, dedicated in 1893, will also be fully steam-cleaned and the bronze figure of Gen. George Stannard will receive a coat of wax.

Work on the 100-foot Pennsylvania Memorial, dedicated in 1910, will be more involved and require occasional closures, according to park officials.

It begins with walnut-shell blasting and washing of the 7,500-pound bronze sculpture, the Goddess of Victory and Peace, at the top of the memorial to remove corrosion and grime. The goddess will then be waxed, and the crew will complete the work by steam cleaning the entire monument and waxing the lower figures and the interior rotunda bronze.

During the work, the upper level observation deck may be closed to visitors for long periods of time.

Photo courtesy of Gettysburg National Military Park