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 Harold L. Peterson

"U.S.S. Cairo: The Story of a Civil War Gunboat" by Virgil Carrington Jones and Harold L. Peterson chronicles the dramatic story of an ironclad gunboat during the American Civil War and the remarkable efforts to bring her back to the surface a century later. Readers witness the U.S.S. Cairo facing the dangers of war through its missions, the challenges faced by captains such as Selfridge Jr. and Bryant, and its fateful sinking in the Yazoo River. The story then shifts to the modern-day recovery of the wreckage in 1964. This section shows the technological developments required to bring up the ship and the many insights gleaned from the artifacts recovered. The effort resulted in the preservation of the ship artifacts including details of what the ship carried and the lives of those who served to offer extraordinary insights into naval life during the Civil War.