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The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Admiral David Farragut - Apr. 12th, 2004
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Posted on 04/12/2004 12:01:48 AM PDT by SAMWolf

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David G. Farragut


David Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 - August 14, 1870) was an admiral of the United States Navy during the American Civil War.


Admiral David G. Farragut - Circa 1863
Mathew Brady Collection (Army)


Farragut was born at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tennessee. He entered the Navy as a midshipman on 17 December 1810. When only 12 years old, he was given command of a prize ship taken by Essex, and brought her safely to port. Through the years that followed, in one assignment after another he showed the high ability and devotion to duty which was to allow him to make a great contribution to the Union victory in the Civil War and to write a famous page in the history of the United States Navy.



In command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, with his flag in Hartford he disproved the theory that forts ashore held superiority over naval forces, when in April 1862 he ran past Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip and the Chalmette, Louisiana batteries to take the great city and port of New Orleans, Louisiana, (a decisive event in the war). Later that year passed the batteries defending Vicksburg, Mississippi. Port Hudson fell to him 9 July 1863.


Painting by Lieutenant Colonel Edmund S. Sayer, USMC (Retired), December 1938, depicting USS Monongahela ramming CSS Tennessee during the battle.
The artist composed this painting from Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut's battle plans.


On 5 August 1864 he 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 then Farragut shouted out the order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" The bulk of the fleet succeded in entering the bay, and the heroic quote became famous.

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



His country honored its great sailor by creating for him the rank of rear admiral on July 16, 1862, a rank never before used in the US Navy.

Admiral Farragut's last active service was in command of the European Squadron, with the screw frigate Franklin as his flagship, and he died at the age of 69 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Numerous destroyers have since been named USS Farragut in his honor, and he has been depicted on US postage stamps twice; first on the $1 stamp of 1903, and then on a 32c stamp in 1995.
1 posted on 04/12/2004 12:01:49 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: snippy_about_it; PhilDragoo; Johnny Gage; Victoria Delsoul; Darksheare; Valin; bentfeather; radu; ..
Setting the Stage


Though the most famous battles of the Civil War occurred on land, from the beginning both sides recognized that control of the seas would be crucial. This was due to the agriculturally based Southern economy that relied on shipping to receive goods and supplies. Once the Civil War began, President Lincoln ordered a blockade of Southern ports. The South responded to the North's strategy by "blockade running," which became the only way the Confederate states could supply themselves with direly needed wares. Ships filled with goods--some for the war effort, others for Southern consumers--left Nassau, the Bahamas; Havana, Cuba; the West Indies; and Bermuda attempting to sneak by the Union Navy. However, the Union Navy succeeded in closing many harbors such as Mobile, Alabama, which was deep enough to accommodate large ships.


Map taken from J. H. Colton's plans of U.S. Harbors, shows the position and vicinities of the most important fortifications on the sea-board and in the interior. The map was drawn from U.S. surveys and other authentic sources. Printed by Lang & Lang, New York, 1862.


The U.S. Navy had to grow rapidly to perform its roles. Though in 1861 it consisted of just 42 warships, by 1865 it had grown to 675 vessels. The North converted ships originally designed for other functions, such as whalers and tugs, and built others from scratch, many of which adopted the latest technology. The most famous example of innovation was the ironclad or "monitor" ships, which were named after the first vessel of its kind. The USS Monitor and subsequent, similar warships were armored with iron plate that was supposed to make them hard to sink. Union warships gradually added other features, including steam engines and more powerful guns. To counteract the Union Navy, the Confederates introduced a new weapon, which they called a "torpedo." Torpedoes were cheap, easily produced underwater mines that could seriously damage or sink ironclad ships.


Friction Torpedo


The Union's armored ships and the Confederate's torpedoes clashed in combat during the summer of 1864 at Mobile Bay in Alabama. In July, Admiral Farragut prepared to lead the Union Navy in an attack on Fort Morgan, which guarded the mouth of Mobile Bay. In the previous two years he had seized New Orleans and Galveston, and he was now ready to close the last major port still available to blockade runners on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Battle of Mobile Bay



Engraving depicting Farragut's fleet running past Forts Morgan (at right) and Gaines (left) to enter Mobile Bay, in the morning of 5 August 1864.
Ships specifically identified include USS Hartford (center) and CSS Tennessee (toward the right).


The blockade was a crucial part of what the North called the "Anaconda Plan." As its name suggests, this strategy intended to squeeze the Confederacy until it surrendered. The Union Navy would cut off overseas trade by a tight blockade and divide the Confederacy in two by diving like a snake down the Mississippi River with a combined land and naval force. Together these two pressures would hopefully show the South that secession was futile and that it should surrender.


Battle of Mobile Bay
J. Gillray
1875
Oil on canvas


Blockade running became so important to the South that one historian called it "the lifeline of the Confederacy." Successful blockade-runners helped the South receive much-needed goods, while the ships' crews and owners received rich rewards to compensate for the risks taken. It was so vital to the Confederacy that while most of the vessels were privately owned at first, later in the war the state and Confederate governments became co- or full owners of the ships. However, the risks were great. If the Union captured a ship, it became Union property and its captain would spend the rest of the war in a Union prison.


Percussion Torpedo


The same limited industrial facilities that made the South need these ships meant it could only produce a limited number, which left the Confederates at a disadvantage on the seas. As the North worked hard to tighten its blockade, the South began to look to Europe for procuring not only ironclads to keep Union monitors from closing ports, but fast cruisers to keep trade flowing. British shipyards were building blockade-runners with more powerful engines; they also built what were known as commerce raiders, which attacked Union trading ships and took their goods. Yet pressures from the United States on these foreign countries limited the South's ability to secure the number of vessels needed for a successful blockade-running operation and for organizing a strong Confederate Navy.


Farragut's Flagship Hartford scraped the mines, but didn't set them off


The North continued to gain advantage as the war continued. By 1863, large blockade-runners could only operate in and out of Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; and Galveston, Texas. Southern ocean trade dropped to one-third of its original level, and the Confederacy began running out of clothing, weapons, and other supplies.


106. Fort Morgan, with Damage to the South Side of the Fort - Mobile Point, AL, 1864


In an attempt to counteract the Union Navy, especially the ironclads, the Confederates introduced the torpedo, which became very controversial. Before the Civil War, explosive devices had been floated towards enemy ships, but these could be seen on the surface allowing time for reaction. Torpedoes, on the other hand, remained hidden below the water, which provoked complaints from the North that no civilized country would use an "invisible" weapon. Union Adm. David Farragut explained the dilemma the North found itself facing: "Torpedoes are not so agreeable when used on both sides; therefore, I have reluctantly brought myself to it. I have always deemed it unworthy [of] a chivalrous nation, but it does not do to give your enemy such a decided superiority over you."


Print after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, 1886, depicting the Union and Confederate squadrons at the moment that USS Tecumseh sank after striking a mine ("torpedo").
Confederate ships (left foreground) are Morgan, Gaines and Tennessee. Union monitors visible astern of Tecumseh are Manhattan and Winnebago. USS Brooklyn is leading the outer line of Union warships, immediately followed by USS Hartford.


All of these issues converged at the Battle of Mobile Bay, which began on August 5, 1864 when Admiral Farragut's fleet moved into the torpedo-filled Mobile Bay. The fleet included 14 wooden ships (including the flagship Hartford), four monitors (the Tecumseh, Manhattan, Winnebago, and Chickasaw), as well as several gunboats that stayed nearby if needed. As the fleet neared Fort Morgan, the Tecumseh hit a torpedo and quickly sunk.



This loss did not stop the Union attack. Seeing what was happening, Admiral Farragut ordered his fleet to press forward through the underwater minefield into Mobile Bay. The 13 other ships made it past Fort Morgan, then, after some resistance, forced the Confederate ships in the bay to surrender or flee. Over the next three weeks, fire from Farragut's vessels and the Union Army finally forced the defenders of Fort Morgan to surrender. Though the city of Mobile would remain in Confederate hands into 1865, the port was now closed to blockade runners.



This victory brought a tremendous boost to Northern spirits, but at a high cost. Monitors were widely believed to be unsinkable--yet it took the Tecumseh just two minutes to go down. In the end, only 21 of the 114 men aboard escaped death. In addition, while clearing the many torpedoes, seven more Union ships, including two ironclads, sank. Their loss provided a particularly painful illustration of how changing technology affects the men fighting a war.

Additional Sources:

www.nationmaster.com
www.heritagephotographs.com
www.multied.com
www.allposters.com
lsm.crt.state.la.us
home.triad.rr.com/aom
www.history.navy.mil
www.bigcountry.de
www.reevesmaps.com
www.navysna.org
www.chinfo.navy.mil
www.philaprintshop.com
www.americaslibrary.gov
www.civilwarphotos.net
www.pf-militarygallery.com

2 posted on 04/12/2004 12:02:30 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: All
'A ship without Marines is like a coat without buttons.'

-- Adm. David G. Farragut



'Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!'

-- Adm. David G. Farragut


Percussion Torpedo


Aboard Hartford, Farragut entered Mobile Bay, Alabama, 5 August 1864, in two columns, with armored monitors leading and a fleet of wooden ships following. When the lead monitor Tecumseh was demolished by a mine, the wooden ship Brooklyn stopped, and the line drifted in confusion toward Fort Morgan. As disaster seemed imminent, Farragut gave the orders embodied by these famous words. He swung his own ship clear and headed across the mines, which failed to explode. The fleet followed and anchored above the forts, which, now isolated, surrendered one by one. The torpedoes to which Farragut and his contemporaries referred would today be described as tethered mines.

3 posted on 04/12/2004 12:02:49 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: All


Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.





Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.





Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.





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~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF




The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

4 posted on 04/12/2004 12:03:16 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: CarolinaScout; Tax-chick; Don W; Poundstone; Wumpus Hunter; StayAt HomeMother; Ragtime Cowgirl; ...



FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Monday Morning Everyone.


If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

5 posted on 04/12/2004 12:05:11 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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To: snippy_about_it
Good Morning Snippy. You Alamoed out yet?
6 posted on 04/12/2004 12:05:51 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: SAMWolf
Nope, but now were are back into Band of Brothers! How long is Gods and Generals? When are we gonna have time to work on threads? So many things to do, so little time!
7 posted on 04/12/2004 12:07:15 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; radu; Professional Engineer; PhilDragoo; All

Good morning everyone!

8 posted on 04/12/2004 12:07:40 AM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: snippy_about_it
Gods and Generals is 4+ hours
9 posted on 04/12/2004 12:07:56 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: bentfeather
Good morning Feather. up late aren't ya?
10 posted on 04/12/2004 12:08:27 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: bentfeather
My goodness your up late! Good morning, which I'll probably say again in a few hours. I'm off to get some sleep. See you later today.
11 posted on 04/12/2004 12:10:15 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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To: snippy_about_it
I know I can't see anymore. See you maybe. LOL
12 posted on 04/12/2004 12:11:42 AM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: bentfeather
I'm gonna hit the sack too. Night Feather.
13 posted on 04/12/2004 12:12:14 AM PDT by SAMWolf (A Bachelor is a man who never makes the same mistake once)
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To: SAMWolf
Night Sam, see you tomorrow.
14 posted on 04/12/2004 12:14:54 AM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: snippy_about_it
Good morning Snippy.

Kellet YG-1B (1938)

15 posted on 04/12/2004 1:02:03 AM PDT by Aeronaut (If we are not 'one nation under God,' what are we?)
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To: SAMWolf
Farragut's capture of New Orleans was strategically important. A link in the chain, the next being Vicksberg, resulting in the control of the Ohio and Mississippi. The situation for the South then become nearly hopeless. Then Grant and the Western Army went to Chattanooga, and hope was gone. Chickamauga was denouement.
16 posted on 04/12/2004 1:41:07 AM PDT by Iris7 (If "Iris7" upsets or intrigues you, see my Freeper home page for a nice explanatory essay.)
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To: SAMWolf; snippy_about_it
Another great story!

I noticed that those "torpedoes" looked like they had been made from moonshine stills ;-)

17 posted on 04/12/2004 4:06:11 AM PDT by snopercod (When the people are ready, a master will appear.)
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To: snippy_about_it
Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
18 posted on 04/12/2004 4:11:27 AM PDT by E.G.C.
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To: Iris7
As luck would have it, I took this photo two days ago (sorry, there are only six):


19 posted on 04/12/2004 4:33:21 AM PDT by snopercod (When the people are ready, a master will appear.)
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To: snippy_about_it
Good Morning. It's raining in Memphis and looks to do so for much of today. It's a good day for another cup of coffee.

Coffee's on


20 posted on 04/12/2004 5:05:47 AM PDT by GailA (Kerry I'm for the death penalty for terrorist, but I'll declare a moratorium on the death penalty)
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