On July 16, 1862, Congress created the new flag rank of rear admiral, ending the Navy’s long tradition of avoiding admiral titles for fear of their aristocratic associations. David Glasgow Farragut was commissioned that same day as the first rear admiral in U.S. history, following his decisive victory at New Orleans and his rising prominence in the war.
Two years later, on August 5, 1864, Farragut cemented his legend at the Battle of Mobile Bay. As thick gunsmoke obscured the deck of his flagship, USS Hartford, he climbed high into the main rigging to see the fight more clearly. Fearing he might fall if the ship lurched or the rigging was hit, Captain Percival Drayton ordered Quartermaster John H. Knowles to secure him with a lead line. Lashed to the shrouds, Farragut directed the fleet through the mined channel and into the bay, an act of fearless leadership that became one of the most iconic images of the Civil War.
Image: Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, c. 1863 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
