On August 5, 1864, Union naval forces under Admiral David Farragut attacked Confederate defenses at Mobile Bay, Alabama. The harbor was heavily mined with naval mines, then called “torpedoes,” and protected by forts and warships. As the fleet advanced, one Union ship struck a mine and sank, causing hesitation. Farragut reportedly ordered his ships forward with a famous cry that urged them to move past the danger. The Union fleet pushed through, defeated the Confederate naval forces, and sealed off one of the South’s last major ports. The victory helped tighten the blockade of the Confederacy late in the war.
