A
merica’s greatest naval hero of the
Civil War, David Farragut, was
approaching his 60th birthday
when the conflict erupted. He probably
supposed that he had reached the peak
of a solid naval career and could now
look forward to imminent retirement.
Instead, the war thrust him into action
and the limelight of celebrity.
Farragut was the son of a Spanish
immigrant, a merchant sailor who had
fought for his new country in the
Revolutionary War. But the most
important early influence on him was
American naval officer David Porter,
who took the young Farragut into his
household and into the Navy as a
midshipman at the tender age of
nine—a precocious initiation even by
the standards of the day.
The boy soon saw combat in the
Anglo-American War of 1812, when
Porter’s frigate Essex, with Farragut
aboard, cruised the Pacific in search of
British whalers. Aged 12, Farragut was
given his first command, when he took
a captured vessel into port. In March
1814, however, the Essex was trapped at
David Farragut
Valparaíso, Chile, by two Royal Navy
vessels. Porter tried to fight but, with
24 of his crew dead and twice as many
wounded, he had to surrender. Farragut
was taken prisoner but released on parole,
then took no further part in the war.
From 1815, peacetime service created
a frustrating environment for any career
sailor. Promotion was slow and chances
to demonstrate ability very few and far
between. Farragut seemed to miss any
opportunities that arose, even failing to
see significant action
during the War with
Mexico in 1846–48.
He performed
administrative roles on
shore, supervising
ordnance at the Navy
Yard at Norfolk,
Virginia, and organized
the founding of the
Mare Island Navy Yard
in California.War breaks out
When Farragut offered
his services to the
Union in April 1861, turning his back
on his Southern roots, there was no
reason to believe he would become
an exceptional leader. For eight months
he languished without significant
employment, partly because of
suspicion of his Southern origins, until
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
selected him to command the naval
attack on New Orleans.
Farragut’s new role placed him in
charge of the West Gulf Blockading
Squadron in early 1862, and he
immediately showed skills that were to
be repeated in other operations.
Although the original plan for theUNION ADMIRAL Born 1801 Died 1870
CLASH OF ARMIES 1862Portrait of an admiral
This studio portrait of Farragut in dress uniform was
taken during the Civil War, around 1863. He was,
sequentially, the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and
full admiral in the history of the U.S. Navy.USS Hartford
Farragut’s flagship through the Civil War, the Hartford was
a screw sloop of war that had been recently built. As usual
for the time, it had a mix of steam propulsion and sails.
Its armament included 20 9in (23cm) Dahlgren guns.
“Admiral Farragut has ... the
unassuming and the unpresuming
gentleness of a true hero”
DIARY OF GIDEON WELLES, UNION SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1863