![]() The lesson was edited by the Teaching with Historic Places staff. The lesson written by Blanton Blankenship, Historic Site Director, Fort Morgan and Bill Rambo, Historic Site Director, Confederate Memorial Park. It was made possible by the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program. This lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file, " Fort Morgan" (with photographs), and other sources. ²"Fort Morgan in the Confederacy: Letter by Hurieosco Austill." Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. ![]() For in the words of one Confederate soldier reminiscing on the ill-fated ship, "She careens, her bottom appears! Down, Down, Down she goes to the bottom of the channel, carrying 150 of her crew, confined within her ribs, to a watery grave."¹ ¹Official Records. But the Tecumseh indeed sank that summer morning, August 5, 1864, unexpectedly killing the majority of its crew and demonstrating the deadly effects of advances in technology such as the torpedo. It was widely believed that these warships were unsinkable. Yet, against all odds, the seasoned admiral ordered his flagship, the Hartford, and his fleet to press forward through the underwater minefield and into Mobile Bay.Īlthough Farragut was a champion of the "wooden navy," he agreed to include four new ironclad ships modeled after the USS Monitor in his attack fleet. Aware of the danger near Fort Morgan, Farragut ordered his captains to stay to the "eastward of the easternmost buoy" because it was "understood that there are torpedoes and other obstructions between the buoys."¹ Unfortunately, the lead ironclad, the USS Tecumseh, unable to avoid the danger, struck a mine and sank into the oceans depths. David Farragut began his attack on Mobile Bay, Alabama. Under the early light of dawn, Union Adm. This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program.
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