The painting is The Giant of Mobile Bay by Tom W. Freeman
From Wiki:
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864 was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union 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. A paraphrase of his order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" became famous. Farragut's actual order was "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!".
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.
[Presumably the Confederate ship in the forefront is the CSS Tennessee?]
I think that the most famous two where the prototypes of a whole class of ships on both sides. Not sure if they represented *the* break between wood & sail to Steam and iron but they were certainly some of the first to make that transition.
I know there was a lot of experimentation during the Civil war years, mostly out of need - the South tried "Cottonclads", but it's never seemed to me that using flammable armor against chemically-propelled bullets and shot would be a very effective measure.
BTW, Cyberkitten, I've just discovered a book in my library about the "worst airplanes in history". Will have to investigate after Nanowrimo. ;-)
5 comments:
must be a painting of the Merrimack?
The painting is The Giant of Mobile Bay by Tom W. Freeman
From Wiki:
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864 was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union 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. A paraphrase of his order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" became famous. Farragut's actual order was "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!".
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.
[Presumably the Confederate ship in the forefront is the CSS Tennessee?]
i didn't know that there were more than two iron-clads... tx
I think that the most famous two where the prototypes of a whole class of ships on both sides. Not sure if they represented *the* break between wood & sail to Steam and iron but they were certainly some of the first to make that transition.
I know there was a lot of experimentation during the Civil war years, mostly out of need - the South tried "Cottonclads", but it's never seemed to me that using flammable armor against chemically-propelled bullets and shot would be a very effective measure.
BTW, Cyberkitten, I've just discovered a book in my library about the "worst airplanes in history". Will have to investigate after Nanowrimo. ;-)
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