Farragut, David Glasgow << FAR uh guht, DAY vihd GLAS goh >> (1801-1870), an American naval officer, won fame at the American Civil War battle of Mobile Bay with the slogan: “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Congress created the rank of full admiral for him in 1866.
Farragut showed his loyalty to the Union when he gave up his home in Norfolk, Virginia, at the start of the Civil War to fight on the Northern side. He took command of the important Western Gulf Blockading Squadron, and cooperated brilliantly with General B. F. Butler and General E. R. S. Canby in operations against New Orleans and the forts at Mobile Bay. He won the nickname of Old Salamander when he ran his boats under heavy gunfire between the New Orleans forts on April 24, 1862, and the Mobile Bay forts on Aug. 5, 1864.
Farragut sailed up the Mississippi River with his heavy seagoing ships to bombard Vicksburg in 1862, a year before Grant captured the city by land. Farragut led a fleet that attacked Mobile in 1864. The Union sailors commanded by Farragut fought their way into Mobile Bay, captured or destroyed enemy ships, and occupied the forts.
Farragut was born near Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 5, 1801. He took the name David after his adoption in 1810 by Captain David Porter, a United States naval officer noted for his service in the War of 1812. David Dixon Porter, Farragut’s adoptive brother, also gained fame as a Union naval officer in the Civil War.
Before the Civil War, Farragut fought pirates in the Caribbean and took part in the war with Mexico. In 1867 and 1868, he commanded American naval forces in European waters. He died on Aug. 14, 1870.
See also Civil War, American (Battle of Mobile Bay); Porter, David; Porter, David Dixon.
