Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all are having a great day!

Not bad. She's come a long way. My father was primary diver and first to touch her, and I was present to witness the intact raising of the pilot house. As it turned out, the first/best location to view the smaller items brought up each day seemed to be my father's home in Bolton. So, piece by piece over months, home became a very crowded and amazing first-hand collection of pristine history. Every day, if possible, my father and others including Ed Bearss, author, historian and story-teller extraordinaire and representative of the National Park Service, would view the latest find over sour-mash in the kitchen. I was under the table. Much of that displayed in the Cairo museum, at one time, adorned every corner of the house, evolving over the years of my childhood until eventually finding home with the Park Service. Photographs in the original frames, letters and diaries, all manner of personal items including firearms, and several stands of 32-pounder artillery projectiles. The salvage operation commenced under primitive conditions. There were few roads and they were muddy. And it was dangerous, claiming at least one man to drowning. The first real attempt to raise the ship in once piece involved 3 cables positioned under the hull and only cut the mud laden hulk into pieces. The bits were eventually moved to Pascagoula, to begin rehab. 55 years ago.

When I was a kid people would go up there and picnic on the river bank and we would all watch them working on getting it out of the river.

Being a Civil War buff, this is an awesome clip. You never get tired of learning history.

Just imagine how hot and noisy it must have been inside the ship.

Damn. This is like the first “visit a museum” video I’ve ever seen that isn’t awful. It facts it’s great! Thank you!

Man the sounds, heat and the taste in the air while being aboard such a thing in the peaks of battle. Insane

Greetings from Clay County, Missouri! Thank you! Haven't had a chance to see this in person. One of my Mother's relations was aboard the USS Cairo (for Ka-roe, Ill) from 30 Jan 1862. Peter O. Hill was Captain of Mess No. 4, which included immigrants from not only Norway, but also Sweden, Denmark and Germany. His spoon is among the artifacts. He survived the war, but was killed by runaway horses in Lee county, Ill., around 1890, aged 55. Thanks again! Peter O. Hill (Peder O. Hidle) Co. "I", 4th Illinois Cavalry 1018 Thumbs up! later

Very cool! Thanks for the tour of something I may never get time to visit.

My father was friends with the gentleman that actually rediscovered it. As a 12 year old I went there with my dad, who was a famous professional photographer, and watched them bring up pieces of the Pilot house. I took my grandchildren to see the finished museum. As a veteran, and follower of the civil war history, I understand how important history should be. You did an excellent job with this video. Thank you.

My ancestors fought at Vicksburg. My great x3 uncle John Austin Dolson was a captain in a company in the 21st Iowa, one of the regiments that made the only penetration in the defenses around the city during the siege.

Cool that so much of it survived.

Really nice video, as a Navy veteran I love this kind of history.

Reminds me of the iron clad in the movie “Sahara”

I have been there a dozen times. When my girls were young they hated driving out on vacation, because the trip included a visit to the USS Ciaro and a lecture on the civil war and naval warfare. And the ships name is pronounced not Ki-ro, as in the city in Eqypt. But rather Kay-ro, as in the brand of corn syrup.

Of the thousands of videos like these I've watched, this man has some of the finest. Very detailed shooting but I especially love having him weave in the history as well as videos (when available) from the place in it's heyday for a reference. Top shelf stuff to subscribe to. Thank You!

The paddle wheel wasn't armored because it was inside the armor protection of the ship.

I am blown away with how much work and care was put into building this exhibit, well done!

I grew up going to this Battlefield Park and Cairo Museum. A real gem in the town of Vicksburg. Every few uears Ill return to this battlefield which "iron"-ically, occurred and came to a climax the same day as Gettysburg. Its a beautiful place. Go n see for yourself if traveling along I-20 thru Mississippi, you wont be disappointed.

I was there back in the 90s I am so impressed with how far it is, and how much of the ship has been restored. It was just a work-in-progress in those days.. good job.

Thanks for taking the time to post this, the naval side of the civil war has always fascinated me. All the best from nz

I live here. My family and I still go because we love history! Great to see you here!

i actually really like how they "restored" this vessel. left it all as they pulled it up and only built the frame so it could hold itself up.

You visit some of the best and most underrated locations! One of the best KZfaqrs 👍

Absolutely amazing...what a great tour... Keep them coming..... we are losing so much of our past...

Thanks for the video !! I was able to see this while on one of my "Civil War " vacations several years ago, when my wife and I went to Vicksburg to study the battleground. A very memorable trip.

An outstanding tour of the USS Cairo! Thank you for putting that out for us to enjoy. One detail you may appreciate - the exhaust stacks running from the engine room of a ship to the outside is termed a funnel.

We would drive through Vicksburg every summer, headed from Texas to the AL Gulf Coast for vacation. My father was the best story teller, loved history, and was brimming with facts. Standing in front of one of these gunboats, we figured my dad would impart some very interesting information. He started pointing to the wood and said, "The old wood is old and the new wood is new." My sister and I, being teenagers, just stared at him and said, "that's great, Dad." He was hanging his head, knowing he would never live the comment down. Ofc, he was pointing out the difference between the colors of the old and new wood (at that time, the color and condition of the new wood had not mellowed to what you now see in the video). Anyway, the old wood phrase became a family joke we enjoyed for the next 30 years. My dad's been gone for 7 years now, so sending my sincere appreciation for bringing back such a happy memory of a truly wonderful man.

This is so awesome! I've never seen an ironclad warship, inside and outside. Just amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us all like this. Please keep the incredible videos coming and God bless you, my friend!

I Thank you for all of your historical videos. History is a passion of mine. I can't travel to the places you have been so it's nice to go along with you and feel like I'm there with you. Thank you again.

My home town. I remember watching them raise it up from the Yazoo river . Thanks for showing it to the world.

Thank you so much for taking the time to shoot and post this. Even more thanks for taking so many shots of her engines, really for me, very interesting seeing just how they were fitted on the center wheeler Iron Clads. You have answered many questions for me. Thank you again.

My family and I toured this along with the battle site there at Vicksburg...very humbling. Very worth the drive!

They did a great job reconstructing it I can imagine it on the water with the canons firing !

Don't comment on every one of your videos yet want you to know I have never been disappointed. Thank you for all the memories I now share with all your viewers.

A very well thought out display using both the original salvaged materials and modern replacements.

This is fascinating! I didn't know a few of these ships were on display. If I ever get to that area, it will definitely be a stop for me. Thanks for posting.

Love anything about history especially the history of the Civil War. We could learn a lot from that war these days. Thanks for the amazing videos.

Hey Chris, Wow, Never seen like this before. It's awesome and great historical. Thank so much for video. You have a good week and continue explorer! 😀😀

Now this is really really cool!!! Thanks

Fascinating piece of history I never knew of before. Thanks for the awesome tour. !

So interesting! Thanks, Chris!

Nice video, and great part of American naval history. Glad this was raised and semi-restored. Thanks for making and posting this.

Thanks for sharing! I will put this on my bucket list for a place to visit.

Fantastic video tour!! You did a great job and that was a really cool and informative look into our past!! That ship is amazing and those curved built beams are elegantly built structures just in themselves. How could anyone not like this video, I cannot fathom?

thanks pard for sharing; I was in Vicksburg this last summer and also toured the US Cairo. *LIKED* and *SUBSCRIBED*

It's amazing that it's in that good of condition. That's for the history and a awesome video !

The ship is named for the city in southern Illinois. Local pronunciation is "KAY-ro."

Beautiful boat. Love seeing the history. Thanks for sharing

Great video. Ive been trying to get there for years too see this museum. This will hold me over until I make it there!

I was working near there a few years ago, me and wife went and really enjoyed the park and museum, a lot of cool stuff to see.

Great video! Enjoy this type of stuff very much. Thanks.

That is incredible. Awesome video Chris!

Thanks for the video - I was JUST reading about this ship about two weeks ago and was looking for actual photos/videos of the ship. Cheers.

Absolutely incredible. Though my favorite Ironclad from that era will always be the USS Monitor.

This is absolutely magnificent! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoyed this up-close video. Thanks for sharing in such detail.

1:06 Nice use of what looks to be small gauge Railroad Rails, inverted to give a better surface to mount the vertical pieces of iron cladding (why they're called "Iron clads"). This ship was built in 1861, and by using the rails (with existing tooling or stocks) that no doubt speed up the process of building the ship. Great video, and GREAT restoration.

I really enjoyed your video! I've never been to the east coast or seen anything Civil War related. Thank You for taking me with you!

Great video! The Cairo was sent to Ingall’s shipyard in Pascagoula for preservation/restoration before being brought back to Vicksburg. That must’ve been a very rewarding job!

Holy crap I didn’t know that existed. Thanks for sharing that that was well done!!

I haven't been to Vicksburg since 2004. They were not as far on that display at that time, I don;t think it was covered yet, but the wheel and a few of the guns were around along with some of the catwalk. The whole battlefield museum is a nice day trip, lots of memorials and interesting history about the battle. Some beutiful views of the river too, especially at sunset.

Awesome love the history. Great find love how you give the story

What a great video! My great uncle commanded her sister ship Mound City during the Vicksburg campaign.

Excellent tour video. Very well edited. The instruction that you gave was to the point. Thank you for a job well done.

That was amazing! Love history, and never knew of this, thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving! (from a pilgrim descendant of Edward Doty).

Wow!! What a great video, Chris. That civil war gunboat looks menacing even in it's museum state. A 2 thumbs up from me...Take care..

Thanks for the video. I was not aware this existed. Thorough as always, great job.

Good stuff,glad it was preserved

It's like historical asmr this should not be so nice and satisfying to listen to as it is but it really is

You did a kick ass job explaining this, I very much enjoyed watching this video thank you and I will be subscribing to your channel brotha.

Chris nice video! My best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving! Take care of yourself.

Thank you again very excellent presentation and tour.

Happy Thanksgiving Mobile!..Ty for another interesting learning video

That's really cool thanks for the video!

Amazing reconstruction -- Thanks for posting‼

Quite a technical achievement in it's day. Thanks for sharing.

Actually, torpedoes weren't called mines back then; mines were called torpedoes. The self-propelled weapons that we now refer to as torpedoes did not begin to appear until a few (four) years after the Cairo was sunk.

Must visit to see, thanks for sharing.

Wow! That's awesome! I didn't know there were any surviving gunboats from the civil war. Thanks for the vid! :)

Thank you so much sir, that was extremely fascinating.

Great job! Great camera work.very informative.

This is a well done video and you have a great voice for narrating. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for this video, been wanting you to go their. I'm going to watch Sahara again

Wow. So much history. Happy thanksgiving Chris.

In addition to the ship are the personal artifacts and ordinance that was recovered as well. Very fascinating.

Fascinating stuff, thanks for the video ;)

Really excellent documentary. Great presentation. Thank you.

Well Done Sir!! Thanks for bringing attention to such an innovative piece of military history. It is truly sad how so many of these crafts from both sides have totally disappeared by just rotting away or were dredged out of existence due to river expansion plans. They were indeed marvelous inventions though they were used for destruction. As a Civil War enthusiast, I loved how you presented this video. Keep up the good work. Kindest Regards Robert Espinosa Lee Frankenberry

Good job young Man, thank you!👍

Superb presentation. Thank you

Thanks 4 going to vicksburg. I hope you had a good time.

Great camera work and narration. Thanks!

Cool vid, Fascinating to see. Good job.. 😏💯👍🏼

Awesome history, thanks for showing us!!!

Very cool - didn't even know it was on display anywhere, thanks!

You did a great job with this tour of the Cairo. Great camera and narration. Thankyou from Down Under Australia, where we have an Ironclad in Port Philip Bay at Sandringham. I wish they would raise it from the seabed like the Cairo.

Nicely done!

AMAZING VIDEO..AND DETAILED!

Awesome, Chris! Also, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I appreciate the information and back-story you always include in your videos. Keep up the great work! :)