We’ve all heard the phrase, “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” at some point in our lives. We may have even used it ourselves. But do we know what it actually means, aside from being a really cool thing to say right before you do something insane, irrational, or both? If you’re a fan of U.S. Navy history, you might know it was the command barked by David Farragut during the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.
The Legacy of Adm. David G. Farragut
Badass orders weren’t the only legacy Farragut left behind. He served some 60 years in the U.S. Navy. Farragut was also the reason Congress created new flag officer ranks for the Navy and is also probably the only naval officer that had to be tied down by his crew for his own safety. The life of Admiral David Farragut is a case study in favor of the old axiom “Fortune favors the bold.”
Farragut joined the U.S. Navy at age nine, becoming a midshipman in 1810. During the War of 1812, he was aboard the frigate USS Essex, wreaking havoc on British shipping in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. His first command was aboard a ship fighting pirates in the Caribbean. He later blockaded Mexico’s ports during the Mexican-American War and established Mare Island as the port for repairs on the American West Coast.
When the Civil War broke out, Farragut had already been promoted to Captain, and although he hailed from Tennessee, he considered secession to be treason and moved his family to a town close to New York City. Since control of the Mississippi River was vital to the Union’s war strategy, a leader like Farragut was bound to make himself a national hero by trying to take it.
Adm. David G. Farragut’s Brilliance at New Orleans
His first target was the Confederate port of New Orleans in 1862. The assault on New Orleans came at a time when big victories for the Union Army were few and far between, and control of the mouth of the Mississippi was crucial to the Union’s overall war plan. On April 18, Farragut led his squadron against Forts Jackson and St. Philip, slipping 13 ships into the river and negating the forts. Within six days, New Orleans was occupied by Union troops.
Before Farragut, U.S. Navy officers above the rank of Captain were simply called “flag officers” in an effort to differentiate themselves from the ranks of European naval forces. For his leadership in taking New Orleans, Congress created the rank of Rear Admiral for Farragut, making him the Navy’s first Rear Admiral (along with three others on active duty).
But fighting on the Mississippi River proved difficult. First at Port Hudson and again at Vicksburg, Confederate defenses kept Farragut’s flotillas from meeting their objectives. Despite his lack of success, both strongholds would fall to Union troops by the end of July 1863, and the Union would have complete control of the river. Farragut would then move on to his next battle and into the mouths of people, unknowingly quoting his famous command for more than a century: the Battle of Mobile Bay.
Adm. David G. Farragut’s “Damn the Torpedoes!” Moment
By 1864, Mobile Bay was the last major port city in rebel hands and was defended by three forts. Forts Morgan and Gaines held the entrance to the bay itself. Fort Powell guarded Grant’s Pass, a small channel that allowed for low-draft vessels to transit. In all, 90 guns defended the bay. On top of that, the defenders planted torpedoes, a term for tethered naval mines at the time, but which were marked by buoys for rebel blockade runners to avoid. The only passage through the minefield ran under the guns of the forts. The city also had three gunboats and the ironclad CSS Tennessee, all with six guns each. It was a formidable defense, but Farragut was unfazed by any of it.
On August 2, 1864, he approached Mobile Bay with 12 wooden-hulled ships, two gunboats, and four ironclads, along with 2,000 soldiers to capture the forts. He lashed the wooden ships together so if one was disabled, it would keep moving with the fleet and put the ironclads in place to take the brunt of the damage and do most of the ship-to-ship fighting. In essence, he wanted to keep his ships moving and hit the rebels as fast and as hard as he could. Farragut’s bravado would be on full display.
Not long after the shooting started, the Union ironclad Tecumseh wandered into the minefield, hit a torpedo, and sank. Confused about what to do next, given the size of the fleet and the presence of the mines. The rest of the ironclads signaled Farragut for instructions, to which he (allegedly) gave the now-famous reply, “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
Despite the fate of the Tecumseh, the Admiral believed the mines had been underwater too long to still be effective, and he was correct: the rest of his ships passed through the minefield unharmed.
The CSS Tennessee then attacked the Union fleet by itself, a bold move, even for an armored ship. The Union attackers rammed it while unloading a barrage of cannon fire. None of the shots could breach its armor and sink the ship, but they did shoot away its smokestacks and rudder. Unable to move and its own guns ineffective, it was a sitting duck for the bigger guns of the Union’s ironclads. It wasn’t long before its armor bent under the continued force of the attacks, and the wood underneath began to splinter, inflicting casualties on the crew. Within three hours, the Tennessee had surrendered.
The forts, vulnerable from the rear, were now ready to be taken. Fort Powell surrendered almost immediately. Fort Gaines’ garrison was outnumbered and taking effective cannon fire from the Union troops, who were firing at close range in its rear. The rebel commander surrendered the fort on August 8, leaving Fort Morgan alone and cut off from the city and any rebel assistance. Union soldiers were able to land without resistance and dig in. Farragut’s ships and the Union troops bombarded Fort Morgan until August 23, when it, too, finally surrendered.
Though the combined Union forces didn’t have enough troops to capture Mobile itself, they’d taken the port while suffering just 151 killed and 177 wounded to the Confederates’ 13 killed and 22 wounded. Rebel blockade runners were finally cut off from their last major port and an important source of currency and supplies. Within weeks, Union Gen. William T. Sherman would take Atlanta and begin his famous March to the Sea. The string of victories resulted in President Abraham Lincoln’s re-election in November and a death knell for the Confederate States of America.
In December 1864, Farragut was promoted to yet another new rank, Vice Admiral, and after the war, once again to full Admiral. He served on active duty until he died of a heart attack in 1870, having literally given his entire life to the Navy.
Read About Other Profiles in Courage
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