How formidable was Farragut's undertaking in forcing his way into Mobile
Bay is apparent from these photographs. For wooden vessels to pass Morgan
and Gaines, two of the strongest forts on the coast, was pronounced by
experts most foolhardy. Besides, the channel was planted with torpedoes
that might blow the ships to atoms, and within the bay was the Confederate
ram _Tennessee_, thought to be the most powerful ironclad ever put afloat.
In the arrangements for the attack, Farragut's flagship, the _Hartford_,
was placed second, the _Brooklyn_ leading the line of battleships, which
were preceded by four monitors. At a quarter before six, on the morning of
August 5th, the fleet moved. Half an hour later it came within range of
Fort Morgan. The whole undertaking was then threatened with disaster. The
monitor _Tecumseh_, eager to engage the Confederate ram _Tennessee_ behind
the line of torpedoes, ran straight ahead, struck a torpedo, and in a few
minutes went down with most of the crew. As the monitor sank, the
_Brooklyn_ recoiled. Farragut signaled: "What's the trouble?" "Torpedoes,"
was the answer. "Damn the torpedoes!" shouted Farragut. "Go ahead, Captain
Drayton. Four bells." Finding that the smoke from the guns obstructed the
view from the deck, Farragut ascended to the rigging of the main mast,
where he was in great danger of being struck and of falling to the deck.
The captain accordingly ordered a quartermaster to tie him in the shrouds.
The _Hartford_, under a full head of steam, rushed over the torpedo ground
far in advance of the fleet. The battle was not yet over. The Confederate
ram, invulnerable to the broadsides of the Union guns, steamed alone for
the ships, while the ramparts of the two forts were crowded with
spectators of the coming conflict. The ironclad monster made straight for
the flagship, attempting to ram it and paying no attention to the fire or
the ramming of the other vessels. Its first effort was unsuccessful, but a
second came near proving fatal. It then became a target for the whole
Union fleet; finally its rudder-chain was shot away and it became
unmanageable; in a few minutes it raised the white flag. No wonder
Americans call Farragut the greatest of naval commanders.
[Illustration: WHERE BROADSIDES STRUCK]
[Illustration: THE "HARTFORD" JUST AFTER THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY