Meet the deadline or pay $200 a day. James Eads had
agreed to these terms for the construction of seven new
ironclads. To speed production, a partner shipyard built
three of the boats, including the one in front of you. Eads'
shipyard built the other four boats. All seven boats were
delivered 100 days later.
The USS Cairo and her six sister boats were all named
for towns along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Unlike
wooden sailing ships used at the beginning of the Civil
War, these new ironclads had steam driven engines,
armor plating, 13 cannon, and a top speed of nine miles
per hour.
[Photo captions]
Top right: Ironclads were the backbone of the brown-water
navy, a fleet designed to operate in rivers and
shallow coastal waters.
Bottom left: James B. Eads, engineer and
shipyard owner, was hired to build
the ironclads at an average cost of
$101,808 each.
Bottom right: Ironclads under construction
in the Union Marine Works
shipyard at Carondelet, Missouri.
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