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Battle of Mobile Bay

 

 
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Battle of Mobile Bay
 
 
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The Battle of Mobile Bay was a naval battleNaval battle

A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels....
 fought on August 5 1864, during the American Civil WarFacts About American Civil War

The American Civil War was a sectional conflict in the United States of America between the federal government and 11 Sout...
. In addition to shutting down one of the two remaining ConfederateConfederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was the government formed by eleven southern states of the USA between 1861 and 1865....
 ports, the other being Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia

Savannah is a city located in Chatham County, Georgia....
, this UnionUnion (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the United States, the twenty-three northern states tha...
 victory (together with the capture of AtlantaAtlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater, throughout northwest Georgia and the area aroun...
), was a significant boost for Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln , sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Gre...
's bid for re-election.
BattleCommanding the Union forces was AdmiralAdmiral Overview

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. ...
 David FarragutDavid Farragut

David Glasgow Farragut was the senior officer of the U.S....
, while Admiral Franklin BuchananFranklin Buchanan

...
 commanded the ConfederateConfederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was the government formed by eleven southern states of the USA between 1861 and 1865....
 fleet. The battle took place off the coast of AlabamaAlabama

Alabama is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. ...
, at the mouth of Mobile BayMobile Bay

Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States....
, which was defended by two Confederate forts, Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, and by a torpedoTorpedo

A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that operates underwater a...
 field (in modern terms, naval mineNaval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy ships or submarines....
s) that created a single narrow channel for blockade runners to enter and exit the Bay.

The biggest challenge for Farragut was entering the bay. With eighteen vessels, he commanded far greater firepower than the Confederate fleet of four.






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Timeline

1864   American Civil War: Battle of Mobile Bay begins - At Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.






Encyclopedia


The Battle of Mobile Bay was a naval battleNaval battle

A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels....
 fought on August 5 1864, during the American Civil WarFacts About American Civil War

The American Civil War was a sectional conflict in the United States of America between the federal government and 11 Sout...
. In addition to shutting down one of the two remaining ConfederateConfederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was the government formed by eleven southern states of the USA between 1861 and 1865....
 ports, the other being Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia

Savannah is a city located in Chatham County, Georgia....
, this UnionUnion (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the United States, the twenty-three northern states tha...
 victory (together with the capture of AtlantaAtlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater, throughout northwest Georgia and the area aroun...
), was a significant boost for Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln , sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Gre...
's bid for re-election.

Battle

Commanding the Union forces was AdmiralAdmiral Overview

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. ...
 David FarragutDavid Farragut

David Glasgow Farragut was the senior officer of the U.S....
, while Admiral Franklin BuchananFranklin Buchanan

...
 commanded the ConfederateConfederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was the government formed by eleven southern states of the USA between 1861 and 1865....
 fleet. The battle took place off the coast of AlabamaAlabama

Alabama is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. ...
, at the mouth of Mobile BayMobile Bay

Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States....
, which was defended by two Confederate forts, Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, and by a torpedoTorpedo

A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that operates underwater a...
 field (in modern terms, naval mineNaval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy ships or submarines....
s) that created a single narrow channel for blockade runners to enter and exit the Bay.

The biggest challenge for Farragut was entering the bay. With eighteen vessels, he commanded far greater firepower than the Confederate fleet of four. The Union fleet suffered the first major loss when the USS TecumsehUSS Tecumseh (1863)

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 was critically damaged by an exploding torpedo after it wandered into the field. Within three minutes, the vessel was completely submerged. 94 men went down with the ship. Under fire from both the Confederate fleet and Fort Morgan, Farragut had to choose between retreating or risking the minefield. According to some accounts, he then issued his famous order, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"

Farragut took his flagship through the minefield safely, followed by the rest of the fleet. When Union fleet reached the bay, they defeated the Confederate flotilla led by the giant ironclad CSS TennesseeCSS Tennessee (1863)

CSS Tennessee, a slow-moving ironclad ram, was built at Selma, Alabama, where she was commissioned on February 16,...
. Buchanan surrendered to Farragut aboard the USS HartfordUSS Hartford

Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Hartford, named in honor of the Hartford, the capital of Con...
. Over the next three weeks, a combined operation by the Navy and one Army division captured the forts defending the bay. Although the city of Mobile remained in Confederate hands, the last blockade-running port on the Gulf Coast east of the Mississippi was shut down.

Opposing Forces

Union

Navy
14 wooden ships:
  • USS BrooklynUSS Brooklyn (1858)

    USS Brooklyn was a wooden screw sloop in the United States Navy....
     (screw sloop)
  • USS ItascaUSS Itasca (1861)

    USS Itasca was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War....
     (gunboat)
  • USS KennebecFacts About USS Kennebec (1861)

    The first USS Kennebec was a gunboat in the United States Navy....
     (gunboat)


  • USS MonongahelaUSS Monongahela (1862)

    The first Monongahela was a barkentinerigged screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (screw sloop)
  • USS OneidaUSS Oneida (1861)

    The second USS Oneida was a screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy....
     (screw sloop)
  • USS RichmondUSS Richmond (1860)

    The second USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (screw sloop)
  • USS SeminoleUSS Seminole (1859)

    The first USS Seminole was a sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (screw sloop)


  • USS HartfordUSS Hartford (1858)

    USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Hartford, the capital of Connecticu...
     (2900-ton screw sloop; Farragut's flagshipFlagship

    A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships....
    )
  • USS GalenaUSS Galena (1862)

    USS Galena, an ironclad screw steamer,...
     (950-ton ironclad gunboat/screw steamer)
  • USS MetacometUSS Metacomet (1863)

    The second USS Metacomet was a wooden side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy during the mid 1800s....
     (1173-ton Sassacus-class "double-ender" steam gunboat)
  • USS OctoraraUSS Octorara (1861)

    USS Octorara was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War....
     (981-ton "double-ender" side-wheel gunboat)
  • USS LackawannaUSS Lackawanna (1862)

    The first USS Lackawanna was a screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (1240-ton steam screw sloop-of-war)
  • USS OssipeeUSS Ossipee (1861)

    The first USS Ossipee was a wooden, screw sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (1240-ton steam screw sloop)
  • USS Port RoyalUSS Port Royal (1862)

    The USS Port Royal was a United States Navy sidewheel steamer gunboat commissioned in 1862, active in the American Civil War...
     (sidewheel steamer gunboat "double-ender")


4 ironclad monitors:
  • USS TecumsehUSS Tecumseh (1863)

    Sorry, no overview for this topic
     sunk by torpedoTorpedo

    A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that operates underwater a...
     (2100-ton Canonicus-class monitor)
  • USS ManhattanUSS Manhattan (1863)

    The first USS Manhattan was built by Perine, Secor & Co., New York, NY, at the yard of Joseph Coldwell, Jersey City, NJ;...
     (2100-ton Canonicus-class monitor)
  • USS WinnebagoUSS Winnebago (1863)

    USS Winnebago was a Milwaukee-class double-turret monitor, named for a tribe of Sioux Indians that aided the US governme...
     (1300-ton Milwaukee-class ironclad river monitor, twin-turrets)
  • USS ChickasawFacts About USS Chickasaw (1864)

    The first Chickasaw was a monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (1300-ton Milwaukee-class ironclad river monitor, twin-turrets)

Army
Mobile Bay Land Forces - Major General Gordon GrangerGordon Granger

Gordon Granger was a Union Major General during the American Civil War....

  • Clark's Brigade - Colonel George Washington Clark
  • 2nd Brigade - Colonel Henry Bertram
  • 3rd Brigade (2nd Division, XIX Corps) - Colonel Joshua J. Guppey
  • Engineer Brigade (Corps d'Afrique) - Colonel George D. Robinson
  • Engineer Brigade (XIX Corps) - Brevet Brigadier General Joseph BaileyJoseph Bailey (general)

    Joseph Bailey was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
  • Artillery (XIX Corps) - Brigadier General Richard Arnold

Confederate

Navy
1 ironclad:
  • CSS TennesseeCSS Tennessee (1863)

    CSS Tennessee, a slow-moving ironclad ram, was built at Selma, Alabama, where she was commissioned on February 16,...
     (1273-ton ironclad ram; Buchanan's flagship)


3 gunboats
  • CSS MorganCSS Morgan

    CSS Morgan was a partially armored gunboat of the Confederate States Navy in the U.S....
     (863-ton side-wheel gunboat)
  • CSS GainesCSS Gaines

    CSS Gaines was hastily constructed by the Confederates at Mobile, Alabama during 1861-62, from unseasoned wood whi...
     (863-ton side-wheel gunboat)
  • CSS SelmaCSS Selma

    CSS Selma was a steamship in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War....
     (320-ton side-wheel gunboat)

Army
District of the Gulf - Major General Dabney Maury
  • Fort Morgan - Brigadier General Richard Page
  • Fort Gaines - Colonel Charles D. Anderson

See also

  • History of Mobile, AlabamaHistory of Mobile, Alabama

    The history of Mobile, Alabama differs significantly from the other British colonies, because Mobile began as the first capi...
  • Siege of Fort MorganSiege of Fort Morgan

    The Siege of Fort Morgan occurred during the American Civil War as part of the battle for Mobile Bay in 1864. ...


External links