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CIVIL WAR PICTURES Alexander County Illinois Genealogy Trails
Two of the bystanders are thought to be General U. S. Grant and General John McClernand. The picture was taken in September 1861, soon after both men arrived in the vital Ohio River port. They are supposedly still in mufti, while waiting for their new bridgadier general's uniform to be sent from New York. Gen. Grant is thought to be the man in the center with his hands in his pockets, with Gen. McClernand to his left. (The picture was donated by J. C. McNelly.) Off Cairo, Illinois, in 1863, with
barges moored in the foreground. Source: U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. The USS Cairo was one of a class of seven ironclad gunboats built for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. While patrolling the Yazoo River on Dec. 12, 1862, the Cairo was sunk by the explosion of two Confederate torpedoes over which it passed. Today the Cairo holds another distinction: It is the only surviving intact Union ironclad from the Civil War. 2006-2007 Anna Newell, Alexander County, Illinois Genealogy Trails |
