Admiral David D. Porter, The Naval History of the Civil War.

[567] send Banks to Mobile with a sufficient force to capture that place; while at the same time the Secretary of the Navy offered naval co-operation with Farragut's fleet, which was then disengaged from operations on the Mississippi River, and principally employed in watching Mobile and blockading the coast of Texas.

The Navy Department, as well as General Grant, was unsuccessful in obtaining an order from the War Department for Banks to proceed to Mobile, and act there in conjunction with the Navy; and the fatal move up Red River having been decided upon, all other objects were for the time being passed over, until the anxiety of the Government became concentrated upon the problem of how to relieve that expedition from the unfortunate position in which General Banks' measures had placed it.

Mobile itself was poorly fortified against a land attack, and the Confederates had not more than 10,000 men in and about the city, and the majority of these were artillerists. Notwithstanding the fact that the weakness of the city was well known to him, General Banks turned away from the rich prize which he might so easily have taken, and embarked on the unwise expedition into the Red River region, from which his army was only extricated through the presence of the naval force — which for a time was also seriously embarrassed.

The Navy Department, finding that no co-operation could be expected from General Banks, directed Farragut (January, 1864) to prepare his vessels for an attack on the forts in Mobile Bay, and promised that a land force should be forthcoming at the time the fleet was ready to commence operations.

On the morning of January 20th Farragut crossed the bar of Mobile Bay in the Octorara, taking the Itasca in company in case of accidents, and made a thorough reconnaissance of the bay and of all the forts commanding its approaches. He moved up to within three and one-half miles of the enemy's works, where he was able to verify the reports of refugees who had brought him a statement of the condition of the Confederate works. He could count the number of guns and see the men standing by them. A line of piles, which extended from Fort Gaines to the channel opposite Fort Morgan, was also plainly visible, and showed the intention of the enemy to compel all entering vessels to pass close under the guns of the latter work.

At that time Farragut had not an ironclad, and, being convinced that it would be madness to attack these forts without such aid, made his wants known to the Navy Department, and the vessels were eventually supplied.

The reconnaissance made by the Admiral satisfied him that he had a difficult task before him. Two heavy works protected the entrance to Mobile Bay--Forts Gaines and Morgan--the former mounting 21 guns and the latter 48, while Fort Powell, higher up the bay, commanded the fairway leading to Mobile.

A better idea of the situation of these works can be obtained by examining the accompanying chart than from any written description, and the reader is referred to the plan for information, without which he could form but a small idea of the defences of Mooile Bay and the difficulties attending an attack on them.

The lines of piles, extending from the head of the eastern bank to the edge of the tortuous and shallow channel near Fort Gaines, rendered it impossible for any vessel to pass between the bank and the channel; indeed, only vessels of the lightest draft of water would have dared to make such an attempt under ordinary circumstances.

Every effort had been made by the Confederate engineers to make the channel between Gaines and Morgan impassable; but its depth in some places was as much as 60 feet, the bottom was bad (drift-sand, in fact), and the action of ebb and flow, with that of heavy winds, rendered it almost impossible to obstruct it effectually. Even in time of peace it would have been an immense undertaking, requiring time and taxing the ingenuity of the engineers to the utmost. Not only that, it would have required means which were not at the disposal of the Confederates. Many plans were offered, but the chief engineer of the Department rejected them all and undertook to defend the pass with torpedoes, but, with an order from the Department commander to leave a gap in the line of torpedoes, 500 yards wide, through which blockade-runners could pass in safety between Mobile Point and a buoy marking the eastern end of the lines of torpedoes; which arrangement it was foolishly supposed would keep out a fleet commanded by a man like Farragut. who had already earned the sobriquet of “The old Salamander.”

Besides the forts above mentioned, the following auxiliary defences were possessed by the Confederates: Steam ram Tennessee, 235 feet in length, casemate plated with three thicknesses of 2-inch plates or six inches of iron, speed 7 1/2 knots; battery, four 10-inch columbiads of 16,000 lbs. and two 7 1/2-inch Brooke rifles of 19,000 lbs. The Tennessee was the flag-ship of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, and was commanded by Commander J. D. Johnston.

The following gun-boats also belonged