New photography by Pat Cagney captured with a digital camera.

Admiral David G. Farragut

Artist Unknown

Date1865 or 1866?

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsOverall: 5 3/8 x 3 3/4 in. (13.7 x 9.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 24 1/8 x 20 1/8 in. (61.3 x 51.1 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange

Object number98.32.292

Terms

U.S. Civil War
Robert E. Lee
George Washington
Men
Military affairs

Collections

Photography

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThe David L. Hack Civil War Photography Collection. Photograph of an Admiral in a uniform with a long double-breasted button jacket. He is seen standing slightly facing the right side of the image with his hands resting straight down at his sides. He has gray hair, a cap on his head, a belt around his waist, and a sword at his side. This is from _Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War_ (Hack Collection No. 2].

Label TextUnknown American Admiral David G. Farragut, (1801-1870) 1865/1866 Albumen print on original mount 98.32.292 Born in Tennessee, Farragut was living in Norfolk, Virginia when the Civil War began. Yet he moved his family north, to better side with the Union. In January 1862, he was named Flag Officer in command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. He had gone to sea at the age of eight, and received his first naval appointment as midshipman at the age of nine and a half. In 1866, he became the first Admiral in the United States Navy. A statue of him was erected in Washington, D.C., and the area around it became known as Farragut Square. On August 5, 1864 Farragut led the attack on the last Confederate stronghold in the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Battle of Mobile Bay, it was one of the most decisive naval victories of the Civil War. Mobile Bay was protected by a field of explosive mines called torpedoes. During the battle, the smoke became so thick that Farragut lashed himself near the top of the mainsail so that he could see. The Tecumseh, one of the monitors leading the flotilla, struck a torpedo and sank, causing the fleet to halt in front of the powerful guns of Fort Morgan, a perilous position indeed. With the fleet reluctant to move forward, Farragut rallied his men to victory, shouting, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" Edited By: DS Edited Date: 01/2006