On Aug. 5, 1864, Union Adm. David Farragut watched one of his ironclad vessels sink after striking a torpedo in the heavily mined Mobile Bay, Alabama. It was hardly a propitious beginning to the attack, especially considering it indicated that any ship which came through that stretch of water would have the same problem. But Farragut wasn’t a man to let anything stop him if the cause were important enough.
The other Union ship captains didn’t want to proceed after the USS Tecumseh’s tragic fate—they thought the Confederates had made it impossible to get through the torpedo-filled waters. Farragut had different ideas.
The admiral then roared out the order that made him a famous hero, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” The USS Hartford, with Farragut lashed to the rigging, sailed through the minefield with the other ships following. They quickly outmaneuvered or wrecked the Confederate ships waiting for them and Farragut was soon the victor.
The Union cause needed a strategic victory, especially the taking of a Confederate port. Farragut’s fearless determination won the battle.
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