On August 5, 1864, the Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama was fought. US naval vessels commanded by Rear Adm. David Farragut, shown aboard his flagship USS Hartford, sailed past three forts and a minefield to capture the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee and successfully blockade lower Mobile Bay.
The tactical audacity of Farragut’s attack permanently sealed the Confederacy’s last major open port on the Gulf of Mexico, cutting off a critical lifeline for blockade runners. When the lead Union ironclad, the USS Tecumseh, struck an underwater mine—then universally referred to as a “torpedo”—it exploded and sank in a matter of minutes, throwing the entire Union line into a panicked standstill directly under the heavy guns of Fort Morgan. Realizing his ships were sitting ducks, Farragut famously shouted his legendary, defiant battle cry, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” and lashed himself high up to the rigging of the Hartford to see past the choking battle smoke, successfully guiding his fleet through the minefield and shattering the Confederate naval squadron.
