Carey Woodall of Dahlonega, Ga., shows a wooden model of the USS Cairo he built.(Melanie Duncan Thortis The Vicksburg Post)

[9/6/03]Carey Woodall builds ship models as a hobby and as a result of that hobby, there will be another model of the USS Cairo on display in the city, this time in the lobby of the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Woodall, a resident of Dahlonega, Ga., turned the Cairo model over to Lamar Roberts and the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum Friday. It was immediately taken from the museum off Interstate 20 to the convention center.

“I’ve already talked to Larry (Gawronski, executive director of the convention center) about it,” Roberts said.

Woodall is a history buff with an interest in the navies that fought in the War Between the States.

“Everybody knows about the land battles,” he said, noting that most people know little about the actions of the Union and Confederate navies.

Without the blockade of Southern ports by the Union Navy, the outcome of the war could have been different, Woodall said.

As a result of his interest in the navies, he has built three ship models over the last five years the CSS Virginia, the USS Monitor and now the USS Cairo.

The first two models are in the home of Woodall’s brother, who is a history teacher.

“I built this model to give to him, but he told me he did not have room at his house for it,” Woodall said.

Then in July, Woodall and his wife, Karen, were traveling to a family reunion in Branson, Mo., when they made a side trip to Vicksburg. When he approached officials at the Vicksburg National Military Park and offered them the model for display in the Cairo Museum, they declined saying the museum was already full of artifacts recovered when the Cairo was raised from the Yazoo River. They then suggested Woodall contact Roberts who quickly agreed to accept the model.

“When he (Roberts) asked how much I wanted for it, I told him I wanted to give it to him,” Woodall said.

Woodall said he used fairly common materials to construct the Cairo model. Pointing to the cannon barrels extending from the gunports, he said they were automobile tire valve stem extensions and the stacks and vent funnels are PVC pipe.

The hull, decks and casemates are made from cabinet grade plywood, as is the paddlewheel. Other pieces are made of toothpicks and cotter keys. The whole thing is painted with paint made by Woodall’s employer, Glidden Paint Co. of Oakwood, Ga.

Woodall said the only guidance he had in building the model was a copy of the only known photo of the Cairo taken not long before it was sunk in the Yazoo River Dec. 12, 1862, and descriptions in “Hardluck Ironclad” by Edwin C. Bearss.

“I only made one mistake,” Woodall said as he pointed to the casemate at the stern of the model. “It only had two guns back here and I put three.”

He said he did not realize he had made that error until he visited the Cairo in July.By Fred Messina

fmessina@vicksburgpost.com

[9/6/03]Carey Woodall builds ship models as a hobby and as a result of that hobby, there will be another model of the USS Cairo on display in the city, this time in the lobby of the Vicksburg Convention Center.

Woodall, a resident of Dahlonega, Ga., turned the Cairo model over to Lamar Roberts and the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum Friday. It was immediately taken from the museum off Interstate 20 to the convention center.

“I’ve already talked to Larry (Gawronski, executive director of the convention center) about it,” Roberts said.

Woodall is a history buff with an interest in the navies that fought in the War Between the States.

“Everybody knows about the land battles,” he said, noting that most people know little about the actions of the Union and Confederate navies.

Without the blockade of Southern ports by the Union Navy, the outcome of the war could have been different, Woodall said.

As a result of his interest in the navies, he has built three ship models over the last five years the CSS Virginia, the USS Monitor and now the USS Cairo.

The first two models are in the home of Woodall’s brother, who is a history teacher.

“I built this model to give to him, but he told me he did not have room at his house for it,” Woodall said.

Then in July, Woodall and his wife, Karen, were traveling to a family reunion in Branson, Mo., when they made a side trip to Vicksburg. When he approached officials at the Vicksburg National Military Park and offered them the model for display in the Cairo Museum, they declined saying the museum was already full of artifacts recovered when the Cairo was raised from the Yazoo River. They then suggested Woodall contact Roberts who quickly agreed to accept the model.

“When he (Roberts) asked how much I wanted for it, I told him I wanted to give it to him,” Woodall said.

Woodall said he used fairly common materials to construct the Cairo model. Pointing to the cannon barrels extending from the gunports, he said they were automobile tire valve stem extensions and the stacks and vent funnels are PVC pipe.

The hull, decks and casemates are made from cabinet grade plywood, as is the paddlewheel. Other pieces are made of toothpicks and cotter keys. The whole thing is painted with paint made by Woodall’s employer, Glidden Paint Co. of Oakwood, Ga.

Woodall said the only guidance he had in building the model was a copy of the only known photo of the Cairo taken not long before it was sunk in the Yazoo River Dec. 12, 1862, and descriptions in “Hardluck Ironclad” by Edwin C. Bearss.

“I only made one mistake,” Woodall said as he pointed to the casemate at the stern of the model. “It only had two guns back here and I put three.”

He said he did not realize he had made that error until he visited the Cairo in July.