Battle of Mobile Bay

Battle of Mobile Bay, by Louis Prang.

Date	August 2, 1864 (1864-08-02)–August 23, 1864 (1864-08-23)
Location	Mobile Bay, Alabama
Result	Union victory

Belligerents

United States (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

David Farragut (Navy)

Gordon Granger (Army)

Franklin Buchanan (Navy)

Richard L. Page (Army)

Strength

12 wooden ships
2 gunboats
4 ironclad monitors
5,500 men

3 gunboats
1 ironclad
1,500 men

Casualties and losses

151 killed
177 wounded
1 ironclad sunk

13 killed
22 wounded
1,587 captured
1 gunboat captured
1 gunboat destroyed
1 ironclad captured

The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864 was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Admiral Franklin Buchanan and three forts that guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay.

The battle was marked by Farragut's seemingly rash but successful run through a minefield that had just claimed one of his ironclad monitors, enabling his fleet to get beyond the range of the shore-based guns. This was followed by a reduction of the Confederate fleet to a single vessel, ironclad CSS Tennessee.

Tennessee did not then retire, but engaged the entire Northern fleet. Tennessee's armor enabled her to inflict more injury than she received, but she could not overcome the imbalance in numbers. She was eventually reduced to 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 the Union forces.

Mobile had been the last important port on the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi River remaining in Confederate possession, so its closure was the final step in completing the blockade in that region.

This Union victory, together with the capture of Atlanta, was extensively covered by Union newspapers and was a significant boost for Abraham Lincoln's bid for re-election three months after the battle.

Mobile is situated near the head of Mobile Bay, a natural harbor formed where the Mobile and Tensaw rivers meet before they enter the Gulf of Mexico. The bay is about 33 mi (53 km) long; the lower bay is about 23 mi (37 km) at its greatest width. It is deep enough to accommodate ocean-going vessels in the lower half without dredging; above the mouth of Dog River the water becomes shoal, so deep-draft vessels could not approach the city.

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