Diary of Private Jenkin Lloyd Jones: Saturday, August 30, 1862

Cairo, Ill. We were astir early to catch the first sight of the far-famed city of Cairo (Ill.), and certainly an unhappy surprise we found it; the combined medley of filth and disorder, the streets rough, the sidewalks torn' and tattered, rendering it dangerous to travel, lest they should throw one headlong to the ditch.

SOURCE: Jenkin Lloyd Jones, An Artilleryman's Diary, p. 3