Battlefield Chronicles: The Battle of Mobile Bay

From the very beginning of the Civil War, the Union knew its best chance for victory lay in cutting the Confederacy off from the rest of the world. To achieve that objective, it had to ensure a total blockade of southern ports, assume control of the entire Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two. 

The Union Navy's 1864 victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay denied the Confederate States port access in the Gulf of Mexico and gave the Union control of the region. Combined with Gen. William T. Sherman's capture of Atlanta and subsequent March to the Sea, it was critical in securing the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln. 

With southern trade cut off from global markets and a commander-in-chief determined to win the Civil War by force, the Battle of Mobile Bay was the nail in the coffin for the Confederate States of America. But it only happened through an act of daring in the face of certain death. 

In 1864, Mobile, Alabama, was the last Confederate port city on the Gulf of Mexico still in rebel hands. Its natural harbor and deepwater port made it an obvious target for a combined Union assault, as it was the only port that could trade with Caribbean countries. 

The Confederates began beefing up the port's defenses after the 1862 fall of New Orleans and the 1863 fall of Vicksburg in Tennessee. Mobile Bay was a critical lifeline for blockade runners still trading cotton and other southern products. 

Mobile Bay's defenses consisted of three main forts: Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines guarded the entrance to the bay, while smaller Fort Powell guarded a channel into the area. With 90 guns defending the area, it seemed like a strong fortification, but there were critical flaws. Forts Morgan and Gaines were cut off from the mainland, and none of the forts were protected from the rear. 

The bay entrance was heavily mined to make the guns more effective. Dozens of naval mines - then known as "torpedoes" - were clearly marked with buoys so that ships making the journey in and out of the harbor would have to sail under the 46 guns at Fort Morgan. Also in the bay were three Confederate gunboats and one rebel ironclad, the CSS Tennessee.

Union Rear Admiral David Farragut, a lifelong naval officer, was tasked with planning the attack on Mobile Bay. He knew the defenses of the port city well enough, including its massive naval minefield. It was Farragut who had taken many of the south's Gulf port cities, including New Orleans. Mobile Bay would be just one more. 

Farragut had 18 ships under his command. Fourteen were wooden-hulled ships; four were new, iron-armored monitor-type warships. He had 5,500 men to capture the forts and their 1,500 rebel defenders. Admiral Farragut set the Union Army ashore to attack For Gaines on August 3, 1864. On August 5, he gave the go-ahead to start the battle. 

The attack was to be in two columns. The ironclad would form the first column, pushing to starboard, closer to the guns of Fort Morgan as they passed through the hole in the minefield. The second column, the wooden ships, would pass through the gap in the mines on the port side of the ironclads, letting the armored ships form a shield for their wooden counterparts. 

When the CSS Tennessee came to the battle, the four Union iron ships would attack it, as the rest of the fleet attacked the rebel gunboats. That was the plan.

With the wind in his favor and his ironclads in the lead, the first Union naval column steamed into the bay. The Confederate boats were situated just beyond the minefield, and when the ironclad USS Tecumseh fired the opening shot, the battle was on.

Almost immediately, the Tecumseh drifted into the minefield and was taken down by one of the torpedoes, sinking the ship within minutes. 

The unexplained actions of the Tecumseh caused confusion among the wooden ships, who now had conflicting orders: staying to the port side of Tecumseh meant going into the mines. The commander of the USS Brooklyn stopped his ship mid-battle and signaled for orders from Farragut.

Further back in the wooden-hulled column, aboard his flagship, the USS Hartford, Farragut was not about to stop his engines. He gave his now-famous order to Capt. Percival Drayton: "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!"

The Hartford went around the USS Brooklyn and took the lead but had to drift into the minefield to do it. Admiral Farragut believed that most of the mines had been underwater for too long to be effective and took his column in - he was right. The ships passed safely through the torpedoes and pressed their attack.

Safely out of range of the forts' guns, the wooden-hulled Union ships began attacking the rebel gunboats. Meanwhile, the CSS Tennessee went straight for the entire Union fleet by itself. Unable to penetrate the rebel ironclad's armor, the Federal ships began ramming the Tennessee, which was also ineffective. The Tennessee might have inflicted heavy damage to the Union ships, but its powder was shoddy and ineffective. 

By the time Union ironclads arrived to the fighting, Tennessee was nearly adrift. Its smokestack was shot away, its rudder damaged, and its boilers useless; it became a sitting duck. Union ships fired on the Tennessee until the armor began to shatter its timbers underneath. Finally, three hours into the battle, Tennessee surrendered. 

With the Confederate ships neutralized, the Union began firing on the forts from their unprotected rear. Fort Powell surrendered first, the Fort Gaines Surrendered on August 8. Fort Morgan held out much longer but was eventually faced with the reality that no help could reach them and surrendered on August 23, 1864. 

With 150 dead and 170 wounded, it was a relatively small price to pay for Union control of the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Mobile itself was not captured, but it didn't need to be. The Confederates kept critical forces there that might otherwise have been sent against Sherman in Atlanta. 

The psychological impact of the loss of Mobile Bay, along with Sherman's success and the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, changed the national mood in the north. The Civil War was all but won for the Union, thanks to a little bravado on behalf of one of the U.S. Navy's most legendary figures.