On the morning of August 5, 1864, Rear-Admiral Farragut, commanding the Gulf Blockading Squadron, entered Mobile Bay, passing between Forts Morgan and Gaines to engage the rebel ram Tennessee and the Confederate gunboats Selma, Morgan, and Gaines.
The defenses of Mobile Bay were formidable. The Confederates drove wood pilings into the water from the shoals of Fort Gaines, extending eastward toward Fort Morgan. A 500-yard gap made up the main ship channel for the entry and exit of blockade runners to and from Mobile.
In deeper water, wove into the obstructions, was a row of black buoys marking the beginning of three staggered lines of mines, then called torpedoes. The Union fleet had to sail under Fort Morgan’s guns to avoid the minefield.
The Confederates used contact torpedoes made from lacquer-coated wooden kegs and cone-shaped metal barrels. Their downside is they can become ineffective from prolonged use. They deployed around 180 submerged torpedoes.
In March, Farragut scouted the defenses of Mobile Bay and wrote the Secretary of the Navy describing the Confederate ironclad protecting the bay: “The Tennessee is plated with 6-inch iron, and armed with six Brooks rifles of 6 and 7-inch caliber.” Farragut knew he was outclassed and requested ironclads from the Secretary of the Navy, which he soon received. (Boynton)
Historian Alfred Mahan called Tennessee “the most powerful ironclad built from the keel up by the Confederacy.” She displaced 1,273 tons, was 209 feet long with a 48-foot beam, and casemate 79 feet long. The internal structure of the casemate was protected with yellow pine 18.5 inches thick, supported by 4 inches of oak. (Garcia)
On July 12, Farragut issued General Order Ten to serve as the “script for the conflict,” he said:
“The vessels will run past the forts in couples, lashed side by side, as hereinafter designated. The flag-ship will lead, and steer from Sand Island north by east by compass, until abreast of Fort Morgan; then northwest half north until past the Middle Ground…”
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut
The ships were lashed together so that if one became disabled, the other could carry them through, and if they couldn’t help, the next ship astern would render assistance. (Parker)
The attack was underway by 0545 in the following formation: Brooklyn with the Octorara on her port side, Hartford with Metacomet, Richmond with the Port Royal, Lackawanna with the Seminole, Monongahela with the Kennebec, Ossipee with the Itasca, and Oneida with the Galena. The ships were paired and tethered together with the monitors and ironclads positioned on the starboard side of the approaching fleet. (Farragut)
Flagship Hartford, also known as “Old Ironsides,” was ranked a second-class screw-ship with full sail power and 1,900 tons of burden. Her length was 225 feet, beam 44 feet, and mean draught of water about 16 feet, 3 inches.
Hartford ran on direct-acting engines and could cruise at eight knots, but her fastest speed under sail and steam combines was eleven knots. Armed with eighteen 9-inch Dahlgrens, two 100-pound Parrots, and one 30-pound Parrott, Hartford packed quite a punch. (Rice)
Admiral Farragut came from a bloodline of naval warriors. His father, Major George Farragut, emigrated from the Balearic Islands in 1776 and served in the newly minted US Navy during the Revolution. David learned the art of seamanship from his godfather, Captain David Porter. In the War of 1812, young Farragut served under Captain Porter aboard the Essex. These early days of war introduced the boy to the naval discipline and routine he would encounter the rest of his life.
The sky was cloudy with a little sun and the wind was light from the south and west. Fort Morgan opened fire on the Union fleet at 0706. As they steamed up the main ship channel, the Union fleet encountered problems. Brooklyn spotted torpedoes to her front and attempted to reverse, throwing the whole fleet off. (Farragut)
Flagship Hartford pivoted northwest and shot past the port side of Brooklyn, taking the vanguard position of the fleet. A sailor from Brooklyn shouted a warning to Hartford as she passed, but Farragut’s infamous retort was, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” (Garcia)
At 0740, the monitor Tecumseh struck a torpedo and sank, going down quickly and taking down all of her officers and crew except the pilot and 8 or 10 men. Farragut had a boat sent from Metacomet to pick up the survivors. (Farragut)
Shortly before 0800, the Hartford steamed between the forts and was raked by the rebel gunboats hovering to the north, taking several casualties. Farragut signaled the Metacomet to cast off and pursue the gunboats, one of which they captured, the Selma.
By 0830, all Union vessels were passed the forts, but Tennessee was still uninjured and now in the Union fleet’s rear. Admiral Farragut gave a signal that turned the fleet about for an attack run on the ram, not just with guns but to run her down at full speed. For two hours, the struggle was desperate.
The Monongahela struck first, damaging the Tennessee but not disabling her. The Lackawanna also struck her ineffectually while the flagship Hartford gave Tennessee a severe blow with her bow gun and then unleashed a devasting port broadside of solid 9-inch shot at a distance of no more than 12 feet.
The Tennessee commander, Admiral Buchanan, was severely wounded in the last exchange with a compound fracture of the leg. He had his sword sent to Farragut in surrender. This episode highlights the unusual nature of the American Civil War as opposed to civil wars in the rest of the world. And it’s not an isolated incident.
Farragut sent a flag of truce to the commanding officer of Fort Morgan, Brigadier-General Richard L. Page, to ask if he would allow the wounded of the fleet, as well as their own, to be taken to Pensacola, where they could be better cared for. The request was accepted and carried out.
Farragut was a Christian, raised Catholic, but didn’t really claim a particular denomination in later life. On August 7, he published a brief general order declaring, “The Admiral desires the fleet to return thanks to Almighty God for the signal victory over the enemy on the morning of the 5th instant.” (Farragut)
The Land Campaign
On July 28, the Confederates reinforced Fort Gaines with young cadets from Mobile. The Mobile Bay joint land-sea operation began on August 3, as Union troops under General Granger made a difficult amphibious landing on the west end of Dauphin Island amidst heavy surf. They marched east seven miles, hauling six 3-inch Rodman rifles through rain and mud. They approached within 1200 yards of the fort and dug trenches, preparing for a siege.
On the 6th, Union forces mounted two 32-pound Parrotts and four 12-pound rifles and prepared works for more guns. Around 1700, a Union monitor steamed within striking distance of Gaines and unloaded several shells into the fort. Shortly after, the garrison commander Col. Anderson, requested terms for surrender. Fort Gaines formally surrendered on the 8th turning over large quantities of ammunition and supplies. (Andrews)
At dawn on the 9th, Granger’s command, now reinforced by the Twentieth Wisconsin, Thirty-eighth Iowa, and Ninety-fourth Illinois, embarked for Navy Cove, four miles down the peninsula from Fort Morgan, on the bay side, with siege in mind.
After landing, the Union soldiers marched west within two miles of the fort and slept on their arms that night. Early on the 10th, the Thirty-fourth Iowa advanced within six hundred yards of the fort without drawing substantial fire. Each night after, further advances were made, trenches were dug and the artillery leapfrogged steadily closer to the fort. The occasional Union ironclad made their presence known by steaming by and lobbing 200-pound shells into the fort.
By the 21st, a siege train arrived under Gen. Richard Arnold, increasing the land forces heavy guns to twenty-five cannons and sixteen mortars. The mortars were set behind a heavy parapet four hundred yards from the fort and manned by the Thirty-eighth Iowa. The cannons were set in redoubts, manned by companies of the First Indiana heavy artillery and a detachment of sailors from the fleet.
The Union troops struggled to construct defensive works in the disobedient sand of the Gulf Coast and were exposed day and night to searching fire from the fort. But at dawn on the 22nd, a gun from an ironclad in the bay gave signal for a general bombardment.
At 0900, the whole fleet formed in line of battle and continued the bombardment with unabated fury. The pace slowed from 1900 to 2100, but a fire was seen breaking out thirty minutes later. But the Union artillery didn’t let up.
Six to eight mortar shells were seen in the air simultaneously, and every shot was on target. When the fire broke out, the Confederate garrison tried to put it out and increase their chance of survival by throwing the remaining ninety thousand pounds of powder into the cisterns.
The bombardment was so intense the garrison didn’t really have a chance to respond. Their guns stayed silent for the most part. The firing continued at intervals throughout the night, and at 0600 on the 23rd, a white flag appeared on the parapet of the mangled fort. The garrison formally surrendered at 1430. The Federal fleet now controlled Mobile Bay, eliminating the last remaining stronghold for blockade runners. (Andrews)
Sources
Andrews, C. C. History of the campaign of Mobile: including the cooperative operations of Gen. Wilson’s cavalry in Alabama. New York: Van Nostrand, 1889. HathiTrust.
Boynton, Charles. The History of the Navy during the Rebellion. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1867. Gale.
Farragut, David. The Official Reports of Admiral David G. Farragut of 5 and 12 August 1864, with the General Orders Published Prior to and after the Battle. Naval Historical Foundation, 1964. HathiTrust.
Farragut, David. “A Long Lost Farragut Letter is Rediscovered.” Naval War College Review 24, no. 4 (1974): 97-100. JSTOR.
Garcia, Pedro. Admiral David Farragut and the Battle of Mobile Bay. Warfare History Network. December 2022.
Parker, Foxhall. The Battle of Mobile Bay, and the Capture of Forts Powell, Gaines and Morgan, by the Combined Sea and Land Forces of the United States under the Command of Rear-Admiral David Glasgow Farragut and Major-General Gordon Granger, August, 1864. Boston: A. Williams, 1878.
Rice, Diana. “Battle History of the Hartford.” New York Times, Mar 17, 1929. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
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