FARRAGUT, ffir'ez-gfit, DAVID GLASGOW (1801-70). The most famous of American naval officers. lie was born at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, Tenn., on July 5, 1801, the son of George Farragut (1775-1817), a native of Minor ca, who had emigrated to the United States in 1776, and had taken an active part in the Revo lutionary War. In 1SO8 the future admiral was adopted by Commander (later Commodore) Por ter, and in December, 1810, entered the navy as a midshipman. He was assigned to the Essex (Captain Porter) in the same year, accompanied this vessel on its famous cruise in the Pacific (1812-14), and on March 28, 1814, distinguished himself in the bloody battle with the English vessels the Pherbe and the Cherub. He then served successively on the Independence and the Macedonian, in the Mediterranean ( 1815-17 ) ; studied for nine months under Charles Folsom, United States consul at Tunis: became acting lieutenant on the Shark in 1819; was placed in command of the Fcrret in 1823. and in 1825 bevame lieutenant on the Brandywine. For the next twelve years he served in subordinate ca pacities on various vessels and in various parts of the world, but in 1838 was placed in command of the sloop Erie, and in I8-11 was raised to the rank of commander. During the :Mexican War he commanded the sloop - of - war Ndratoyd, iu Commodore Perry's squadron, and maintained a strict blockade of the port of Tuxpan. lie was on duty at the Norfolk (Va.) Navy Yard from NIS to 1850, when he went to Washington to help compile a book of ordnance regulations for the navy. and from 1854 to 1858 was engaged in establishing the Mare Island Navy Yard. in San Francisco Bay. In 1858-59 lie was commander of the sloop-of-war Brooklyn. and in 1860-61 was stationed at the Norfolk Navy Yard.
Though bound to the South by birth and by the strongest of family ties, he remained steadfastly loyal to the Union at the time of the Civil War, and when Virginia seceded lie removed from Nor folk to Hastings-on-the-lludson, and offered his services unreservedly to the Federal Government. Ile served for several months on the Naval Retir ing Board, but in December, 1861, was put in command of the \Vest Gulf blockading squadron of seventeen vessels, which, with a mortar flotilla of twenty-five vessels, under Commander ( later Admiral) David D. Porter (q.v.), was ordered
to effect the capture of New Orleans. On April 18, 1862, the mortar flotilla opened fire on Forts Jackson and Saint Philip, which, facing each other across the Mississippi, guarded the ap proach to the city; but the bombardment made comparatively little impression, and on the 24th Farragut ran by the forts under a terrific fire (his flagship the Hartford suffering considerable damage), avoided the fire-rafts sent against him, and with the loss of a single vessel (though three had been forced to put back), completely de stroyed a Confederate fleet of thirteen gunboats and two ironclads, (See FORT JACKSON and NEW ORLEANS. ) On April 27th he took formal com mand of New Orleans, which was almost imme diately occupied by Federal troops under Gen. B. F. Butler (q.v.). On June 28, 1862, a part of his fleet passed the batteries of Vicksburg with slight loss, and a few weeks later repassed them. On March 14, 1863, Farragut succeeded in run ning by Port Hudson with the Hartford and one other vessel, and, controlling the river between Port Hudson and Vicksburg. rendered essential aid to the land forces in the campaigns against those strongholds. in 1864 he was placed in command of a fleet of twenty-five vessels and or dered against Forts Morgan and Gaines at the entrance of Mobile Bay. These he attacked at daylight on August 5th. Advancing in the face of the enemy's torpedoes, one of which sank the Tecumseh, he silenced the forts with a fierce bombardment, passed into the harbor, and there destroyed a Confederate fleet consisting of an ironclad ram and four gunboats. (See MOBILE BAY.) He was raised to the rank of rear-ad miral in July, 1862, to that of vice-admiral in December, 1864, and to that of admiral in 18116, the latter two grades having been expressly created for him by Congress. He made a long cruise in European waters in 1867, and subse (lucidly visited California. Early in 1870 he went to Portsmouth, N. IL, where, on August 14th, lie died. The authorized biography is that by Loyal] Farragut. his son (New York, 1879) : and Captain A. T. Mahan has written an excel lent life from the standpoint of a naval expert for the Commanders Series" (New York, 1892). Consult also a brief biography by Barnes (Boston, 1899).