The Battle of Mobile Bay: 146 Years Ago today...to the minute

flyfisher

Cadet
Joined
Apr 30, 2010
Location
Fairhope
"At 6:47 a.m. the monitors Tecumseh and Manhattan engaged Fort Morgan at long range, and shortly afterward the fort replied."
 
By 7:30 a.m. the Tecumseh had just passed the fort (Fort Morgan) and was bearing toward the Tennessee, which stood off her port beam. At this time both the Brooklyn and Hartford were heavily engaged with Fort Morgan and shrouded in smoke. Craven, who had thirsted for the opportunity to engage the Tennessee singly, gave the fatal order to change course to westward. The Tecumseh's pilot, who survived the sinking, claimed that as the monitor approached the buoy marking the eastern edge of the minefield, Craven had commented: "The Admiral ordered me to go inside that buoy, but it must be a mistake." At that moment Craven was probably less concerned about torpedoes and much more anxious to engage Buchanan's turtle-backed flagship. When the pilot announced that there was plenty of water inside the buoy, Craven ran just the breadth of his beam too far westward and struck a torpedo. The monitor sank in two minutes. Alden then saw the buoys ahead and stopped the Brooklyn. It was at this point, 7:35 a.m., that Alden signaled the Hartford that the Tecumseh had been sunk.

West Wind, Flood Tide, Jack Friend


Would love to keep up the "by the minute" timeline (check the time stamps) but have to get off to work. The Battle of Mobile Bay is a heck of a story!
 
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