MOBILE BAY, Battle of, a battle of the Civil War fought 5 Aug. 1864. Mobile Bay is divided from the Gulf of Mexico by Mobile Point east and Dauphin Island west, about three miles apart; hut the ship-channel of less than 2,000 yards, narrowing to 750 outside, closely skirts Mobile Point. The latter was de fended by Fort Morgan; the island by Fort Gaines, too far from the channels to be very formidable. Between them stretched a line of piles and torpedoes, hut leaving a narrow chan nel for blockade-runners, marked off by a red buoy. Within was the Confederacy's most pow erful ram, the Tennessee, and three small un armored paddle-wheel gunboats. Farragut's Federal fleet (in order of battle) comprised the monitors Tecumseh, Manhattan. Winnebago and Chickasaw, forming an inshore column; and the wooden sloops of war Brooklyn, Hart ford (flagship), Richmond, Lackawanna, Mo nongahela, Ossipee and Oneida, forming an outer one, each with a smaller mate lashed to the port side, to ensure passage through if the starboard vessel's machinery should be disabled. Farragut would have led in the Hartford, but the Brooklyn had machinery for picking up tor pedoes. The advance began at 5.30 A.M., and
firing at 7.05; the instructions were to keep east of the red buoy, but the Tecumseh went west and was sunk by a torpedo. The Brook lyn stopped in fear of a like disaster, and the Hartford with Farragut passed her and led the fleet into the bay. Each vessel received much damage from Fort Morgan, but they silenced its guns by destructive fire, and all succeeded In anchoring three miles up. One Confederate gunboat was then sunk, one captured and one took refuge next the fort; the Tennessee was to be attacked after dark, but itself assailed the flagship, and after a desperate fight was dis abled and surrendered. The Lackawanna col lided with the Hartford and nearly sunk her. The Union fleet lost 52 killed, 170 wounded and 113 drowned in the Tecumseh; the Confeder ates 10 killed, 16 wounded and 280 prisoners, besides the casualties in the fort. Both forts surrendered a few days later. The Union fleet carried 159 guns, and the officers and crews numbered 3,000 men. The Confederate fleet carried 22 guns and 470 officers and men.