Cairo, occupation of
The city of
Cairo, Ill. (population, 1900, 12,566), is situated near the extremity of a boatshaped peninsula, at the confluence of the
Ohio and
Mississippi rivers, 175 miles below
St. Louis.
It is a point of great importance as the key to a vast extent of navigable waters, and to it National troops were sent at an early period in the
Civil War. Both the national government and
Governor Yates, of
Illinois, had been apprised of the intention of the
Confederates to secure that position, hoping thereby to control the navigation of the
Mississippi to
St. Louis, and of the
Ohio to
Cincinnati and beyond.
They also hoped that the absolute control of the
Mississippi below would cause the
Northwestern States to join hands with the
Confederates rather than lose these great trade advantages.
The scheme was foiled.
Governor Yates, under the direction of the
Secretary of War, sent
Illinois troops at an early day to take possession of and occupy
Cairo.
By the middle of May there were not less than 5,000 Union volunteers there, under the command of
Gen. B. M. Prentiss, who occupied the extreme point of the peninsula, where they cast up fortifications and gave the post the name of Camp Defiance.
Before the close of May it was considered impregnable against any force the
Confederates might send.
It soon became a post of great importance to the
Union cause as the place where some of the land and naval expeditions in the
valley of the Mississippi were fitted out.