Ein Torpedoschiff der Konföderirten.

Title

Ein Torpedoschiff der Konföderirten.

Description

Illustration of a Confederate torpedo ship at Fort Morgan, Alabama. The Battle of Mobile Bay took place on August 5, 1864, and the remainder of the period until August 23 involved the siege of the Confederate forts Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan.

ca. 1870

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

The Battle of Mobile Bay was a naval battle during the American Civil War in which the Union succeeded in capturing an important Confederate supply base during the Atlanta Campaign. The naval battle itself took place on August 5, 1864. It was a sea and land battle in which a Union fleet under the command of Rear Admiral David G. Farragut and supported by a contingent of soldiers attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Confederates. Mobile Bay with the city of Mobile, Alabama was one of the last two Confederate ports after New Orleans, Louisiana and Galveston, Texas had previously fallen into Union hands.The battle was marked by Farragut's seemingly hasty but successful run through a minefield that had just claimed one of his ironclad monitors, allowing his fleet to get out of range of the coastal guns. As a result, the Confederate fleet was reduced to a single ship, the ironclad CSS Tennessee.Tennessee did not then retreat, but attacked the entire Northern fleet.Tennessee's armor allowed her to inflict more damage than she suffered, but she could not overcome the numerical imbalance. She eventually became a motionless hulk and surrendered, ending the battle.With no navy to support them, the three forts also surrendered within days.Complete control of lower Mobile Bay thus passed to Union forces.Mobile was the last major port on the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi River still in Confederate possession, so its closure was the final step in completing the blockade in that region. This Union victory and the capture of Atlanta was widely reported in Union newspapers and gave Abraham Lincoln's re-election a significant boost three months after the battle.This battle ended up being the last naval engagement in the state of Alabama in the war.It would also be Admiral Farragut's last known engagement.