The Battle of Mobile Bay
From "Selma; Her Institutions, and Her Men" by John Hardy, pub. 1879:
It is not inappropriate for us to give an account of the conspicuous part these four war vessels, built and launched at Selma, and entirely out of Alabama material, took in the action in Mobile Bah, on the 5th of August 1864, as given in the official account of Com. Farragut, of the Federal navy, commanding:
"At 6 o’clock in the morning, the fleet of fourteen splendid vessels with slow and stately pace, steered toward Fort Morgan. The Hartford, the flagship, but the Tecumseh in the lead, fired the first shot; both Forts Morgan and Gains, opened on the fleet, the Tecumseh struck a torpedo, and the gallant Cravens and his crew--about one hundred and twenty soldiers--found a watery grave. Every gun that could be brought to bear from the fleet, was constantly served. In the beginning, Fort Morgan itself seemed a wall of fire, but in a few minutes was obscured by smoke, The Tecumseh sank, the Hartford rushed forward and took the lead, One hour of intense excitement--one hour of straining toll at the guns--and the fleet passed the fort and entered the bay. Than the Confederate Navy, the ram Tennessee, the Morgan, the Gains and Selma, opened fire. The Metecomit gave chase to the Selma, and captured her and her crew of ninety officers and men. The Morgan escaped up the bay. The gains took shelter under the guns of Fort Morgan. The iron ram Tennessee like a monstrous thing of life, stood up with threatening aspect for the Hartford. Seeing this, the Commodore (Farragut) signaled the monitors and wooden vessel best adapted to attack her, not only with guns, but bow on at full speed. For two hours the struggle was desperate and fearful. The iron-clads grappled fiercely with their huge antagonist, and the wooden vessels, with no romantic valor, bore down on her invulnerable sides. Finally, the Manhattan, with fifteen inch shot, penetrated her armor, and a shot from a monitor, in her steering apparatus, rendered her helpless. The white flag appeared, and twenty officers and one hundred and seventy men surrendered. Her loss was only eighty men killed and wounded. Commodore Buchanan, her commander, being seriously wounded. The loss in the Federal Navy was fifty-two killed and one hundred and seventy wounded."
Thus did a Selma built vessel--one, single-handed--fight for two hours, at close quarters, the combined struggles of thirteen of the finest constructed vessels of the Federal Navy--a contest unexampled in the history of Naval warfare--and at a loss of only eight killed and wounded, of a crew of one hundred ninety officers and men. As a matter of precaution, it was thought best to fortify Selma; the works was put in charge of Col. Ledbetter, aided by Capt. Lerner, and experienced engineer, who, with the labor of a large number of slaves collected from the planters of the surrounding country, succeeded in the construction of a bastioned line around the city, from the mouth of Beech Creek, on the river, to the mouth of Valley Creek, where the same empties into the river about four miles in length.
The capacities and importance of Selma, in its relation to the Confederate movement, had been notorious in the North, and too great to be overlooked by the Federal authorities, as early as 1862. But to reach it with a Federal force baffled the ingenuity of the Federal Generals. As the place grew in importance, the greater the necessity to reach it with a federal force. Gen. Sherman first made an effort to reach it, but after advancing as for as Meridian, within one hundred and seven miles, retreated to the Mississippi River; Ben. Grierson, with a cavalry force from Memphis, was intercepted and returned; Ben Rousseau made a dash in the direction of Selma, but was mislead by his guides and struck the railroad forty miles east of Montgomery.
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