Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Gift of the Citizens of Hartford by subscription. 57O
n the night of August 4, 1864, in the cabin of his flagship
the USS Hartford, Admiral Farragut read his Bible, arriving
at ultimate assurance that God was on his side. There was
a knock on his door.
“Admiral,” asked an officer, “won’t you give the sailors a glass of
grog in the morning—not enough to get them drunk—but just
enough to make them fight well?”
“No Sir!! I never found that I needed rum to enable me to do my
duty. I will order two good cups of coffee to each man at 2 AM, and
at 8 AMI will pipe all hands to breakfast in Mobile Bay.”
Much farther north and east, in Richmond, Va., Confederate
States President Davis also resorted to prayer and wired the defend-
ers of the environs of Mobile, Ala., “May our Heavenly Father
shield and direct you, so as to divert the threatened disaster.”
In the city of Mobile, newspapers confidently predicted that Far-
ragut could fire until the end of the war, but the forts guarding the
harbor would still stand. The men inside Fort Morgan bragged that
because they could hit a bobbing barrel at a thousand yards, they
could knock the Hartford out of the water.
Mobile was by far the most important Gulf of Mexico port used
by blockade-runners, New Orleans having fallen to Northern forces
in April 1862. At first, running the blockade had been easy. Mobile
was infused by a giddy and gay atmosphere in those days: Young
men in flashy uniforms were leaving for army camps accompanied
by colorful celebrations and grandiose oratory and levity; schoolboys
toting wooden guns drilled in the streets; and anxious businessmen
of Northern loyalty quietly left town. Southerners could afford to
joke about the Union blockade in 1861: Equipped with 50 warships,
more or less, the U.S. Navy had to cover 3,550 miles of Southern
coastline, 189 harbors or inlets, and nine major seaports.Gate of Fire
THROUGH A
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT TOOK ON THE CONFEDERATE
MINEFIELDS, FORTS, AND IRONCLADS AT
MOBILE BAY ON THE GULF OF MEXICO.BY PEDRO GARCIA
Gate of FireGate of Fire
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