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Cairo

This illustration depicts Cairo, Illinois, probably during the late 1840s or early 1850s. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Cairo seemed on the brink of becoming a major commercial center in the years before the Civil War. During the conflict Union armies made the city a major supply depot and the home of troops awaiting deployment in the western theater. But Cairo was never able to overcome the challenges posed by its low-lying position, which made the city susceptible to devastating floods, and remained a minor river town.