The Battle of Mobile Bay. The End of the Battle
Battle of Mobile Bay, August 1864
We will unite, brothers, again under the tattered banners
Shouting the war cry of freedom
Thousands of names will rise from all corners of the country
Shouting the war cry of freedom
Chorus:
The union will last forever, guys, Hurray!
Away with the renegades, the cowards of the South
So let us unite again, brothers, under the tattered banners
Shouting the war cry of freedom
A song of the Union Army during the American Civil War, written in 1862 by George Frederick Root.
Translated by Ilya Polchanov.
Shouting the war cry of freedom
Thousands of names will rise from all corners of the country
Shouting the war cry of freedom
Chorus:
The union will last forever, guys, Hurray!
Away with the renegades, the cowards of the South
So let us unite again, brothers, under the tattered banners
Shouting the war cry of freedom
A song of the Union Army during the American Civil War, written in 1862 by George Frederick Root.
Translated by Ilya Polchanov.
Stories about the war stories. We are concluding our series on the Battle of Mobile Bay, a key milestone in the Federal victory in the Civil War. Despite mines (torpedoes) and artillery Fire from the forts allowed the Union forces to break through the Confederate defenses. Immediately after the breakthrough, the Union ship Metacomet separated from the Hartford and headed for the Confederate gunboats. The latter immediately scattered, realizing their defense had collapsed. fleet The Union fleet broke into the bay. Among them was the gunboat Selma, which sped deeper into the bay. The Metacomet followed closely behind, firing its chase guns.
The Confederate gunboat Gaines attempted to escape to the shelter of Fort Morgan, but a well-placed shell from the Hartford struck her broadside, disabling her engines. The gunboat was immediately attacked by the sloop Kennebec, whose 279-mm shell tore another hole in the hull and flooded the powder magazine. The captain, realizing the ship was sinking, beached the Gaines, after which her crew scattered in all directions.
The Port Royal and Itasca also separated and pursued the last Confederate gunboat, the Morgan. But then a sudden rain squall struck, visibility dropped to zero, and the Morgan, swerving, managed to escape to the cover of Fort Morgan's batteries.
Meanwhile, the Metacomet continued to pursue the Selma. During a rain squall, the ships became separated, but as soon as the weather cleared, it became clear that the Metacomet had overtaken the Selma and was ahead of her, blocking her escape route. A fierce battle ensued between the gunboats. But the Confederate ship was inferior to the enemy in both speed and armament. Therefore, seeing the Selma's situation hopeless, her captain hauled down her flag. After repairs, the gunboat, now part of the Federal fleet, continued to operate in Mobile Bay.
Metacomet captures Selma
The Federal squadron had completed its breakthrough into the bay by 8:35 AM and dropped anchor north of Fort Morgan. Admiral Farragut's mission was accomplished: his ships were in the bay, and the Confederate island forts were isolated. As for the Confederate squadron, it was routed and no longer posed a threat. The ironclad Tennessee remained, protected by Fort Morgan's guns. Farragut considered this and decided to deal with it by attacking with his monitors at night. Then, at 8:50 AM, something unexpected happened: the Tennessee weighed anchor and headed toward the Federal ships.
What Admiral Buchanan was counting on when he launched this attack is unknown. Protected by Fort Morgan, the Tennessee could have reinforced its defenses and even inflicted damage on the Union forces if they had attacked. Hiding in shallow water, he could easily have avoided attack by the Union's wooden ships, although their monitors could have followed him even there. However, such a course of action was disadvantageous for him, as his guns fired slowly, his engines performed poorly, his maneuverability was abysmal, and his speed was low.
Monitor Manhattan (1864–1902). Lithograph published in the 1860s. National Museum of the United States Navy
As soon as the Tennessee emerged from the fort's shelter, the Union forces immediately attacked it with all their ships. Farragut's wooden ships, having outrun the slow monitors, moved forward and, firing at the Tennessee, attempted to ram it. The corvette Monongahela, with its ramming chock on its stem, struck the Tennessee, but only hit the lower edge of its armored casemate, damaging its bow. The Lackawanna attempted a second attack, but was also unsuccessful.
Then the flagship corvette Hartford moved toward the Tennessee, threatening to ram it head-on. Had they collided in this manner, it would likely have resulted in the destruction of both ships. Then Buchanan turned away at the last moment, apparently unwilling to lose his last ironclad. The ships passed closely, after which the Hartford turned to attack, but in doing so accidentally collided with the Lackawanna, which was attacking it. The terrible impact disrupted the ship's engines, temporarily losing power and drifting adrift.
The Union gunboat Mendota on the Red River
At this point, the Union monitors Manhattan and Chickasaw approached the battlefield. The large monitor Manhattan positioned itself directly ahead of the Confederate ironclad, preventing it from escaping, and opened fire on it with its heavy 381mm guns. The more maneuverable, twin-turreted riverboat Chickasaw approached the enemy from the stern and began firing at the Tennessee at point-blank range. The Confederate ironclad attempted to evade its opponents, but only exposed itself to the concentrated fire of the entire Union fleet.
Shell after shell pounded the Tennessee's armor, creating a deafening, incessant roar within its armored casemate. The guns were disabled, and those that remained were rendered inoperable by their armor shutters jamming under the impact of the Union shells. Then a lucky shot from the Chickasaw also knocked out the chain drives of the Tennessee's stern steering mechanism, which, by some strange mishap, were located completely exposed on the battleship's deck. As a result, the Tennessee was completely disabled, and Buchanan (who had also been wounded by bolts that had flown into the casemate) gave the order to haul down the flag.
Nevertheless, the battle with the Tennessee lasted a full three hours. During this time, an incredible number of shells were fired at both the Tennessee and the Union ships. While Brooke's guns punctured the Union ships with numerous holes (none of them fatal), neither the iron and steel cannonballs nor the explosive bombs penetrated the Southern ironclad's armor, although it was pockmarked from their impacts. At the same time, the impacts on the armor from the inside of the casemate caused bolts to fly out, injuring the crew, loosening fastenings, and damaging machinery from the shock. The casemate armor buckled so much that it jammed the armored shutters of the gun ports—a more than telling result.
The monitor Saugus on the James River, Virginia, circa early 1865. Note the mine-catching rake.
After the defeat of the Confederate squadron, the Union fleet had complete freedom of action in Mobile Bay, although the forts blocking the harbor entrance still held out. However, they were cut off from supplies, meaning their surrender was only a matter of time.
So Farragut wasted no time and immediately dispatched the monitor Chickasaw to bombard Fort Powell. Its commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Williams, immediately turned to his superiors with the question, "What should we do?" and received a rather odd answer: "When the situation becomes hopeless, save the garrison. Hold out as long as possible." But since Williams saw that his fort's garrison was disheartened and showing signs of insubordination, he decided the situation was already hopeless. He immediately ordered the guns to be fired, the powder magazines to be blown up, and the garrison to be evacuated to the mainland.
Fort Gaines held out a little longer, but also found itself in a hopeless situation. Union troops landed on the island and, taking advantage of the favorable terrain, moved their cannons right up to its walls. After this, the garrison commandant, Colonel Anderson, ordered surrender negotiations and, on August 8, surrendered to the Union forces along with his 800-man garrison.
After this, only Fort Morgan, on the western side of the bay, remained in Confederate hands. However, the Union forces had completely cut it off from the mainland. Its garrison, commanded by General Page, continued to resist and had no intention of surrendering.
General Granger, commanding the Union infantry, decided to take the fort using combined land and sea operations. The captured Tennessee was quickly repaired and incorporated into the Union fleet. The fort was bombarded from ships, while Union troops dug trenches to the fort's walls. Dictator mortars were brought in, and on August 22, the fort was subjected to an intense bombardment. The explosions of 330 mm bombs started fires in the fort; fearing an explosion of the powder magazines, General Page ordered them flooded, thereby depriving the garrison of ammunition. He then considered it for another day and surrendered on August 23.
Fort Morgan after the surrender
By taking Fort Morgan, the Union gained complete control of Mobile Bay. The port of Mobile remained in Southern hands, but it lost all significance, as blockade runners could no longer penetrate it through the bay. Moreover, the Southerners, fearing a Union attack on the city, maintained significant forces there, as the loss of the city would have been extremely negatively received by Southern public opinion.
Information