Description: A print of Battle of Mobile Bay ... Passing Fort Morgan and the Torpedoes, painted by J. O. Davidson in 1886. The scene depicts the sinking of the ironclad USS Tecumseh. Confederate ironclads Morgan, Gaines, and Tennessee approach from the left, and Union ironclads Manhattan and Winnebago approach from behind.


History: The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal 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. 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. Mobile had been the last important port on the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi River remaining in Confederate possession, so its closure was the final step in completing the blockade in that region. This Union victory, together with the capture of Atlanta, was extensively covered by Union newspapers and was a significant boost for Abraham Lincoln's bid for re-election three months after the battle.

Provenance: R.I. estate


Dimensions: Weight (Pounds & Ounces) = 5.4 | Height(in) = 20 | Width(in) = 26.5 | Depth(in) = 1

Size of Artwork(in): 14.75 x 21"


Artist Name: Jo Davidson, Louis Prang


Medium: Paper


Circa: C. 1886

Toned, loss and small repair to lower left 1/2 x 1" colored to match.