David Farragut

David Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. He was both the first vice admiral and full admiral of the Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his famous order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

Civil War

In command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, with his flag in USS Hartford, in April 1862 he ran past Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip and the Chalmette, Louisiana, batteries to take the city and port of New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 29 that year, a decisive event in the war. Later that year he passed the batteries defending Vicksburg, Mississippi. Port Hudson fell to him July 9, 1863.

Related Topics:
West Gulf Blockading Squadron - USS ''Hartford'' - 1862 - Fort Jackson - Fort St. Philip - Chalmette, Louisiana - New Orleans, Louisiana - April 29 - Vicksburg, Mississippi - Port Hudson - July 9 - 1863

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On August 5, 1864, Farragut won a great victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Mobile, Alabama, at the time was the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were known as torpedoes at the time). Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When one ship struck a mine the others began to pull back, but Farragut shouted the order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" The bulk of the fleet succeeded in entering the bay and the heroic quote became famous.

Related Topics:
August 5 - 1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay - Mobile, Alabama - Confederacy - Gulf of Mexico - Naval mine

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Farragut then triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines to defeat the squadron of Admiral Franklin Buchanan.

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His country honored its great sailor after New Orleans by creating for him the rank of rear admiral on July 16, 1862, a rank never before used in the U.S. Navy. (Before this time, the American Navy had resisted the rank of admiral, preferring the term "flag officer", to separate it from the traditions of the European navies.) He was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to full admiral on July 25, 1866, after the war.

Related Topics:
Rear admiral - July 16 - 1862 - Vice admiral - December 21 - 1864 - Admiral - July 25 - 1866

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