Brief biographies from American history, for the fifth and sixth grades

by Edna Henry Lee Turpin

When David was about seven, Mr. Farragut was put in charge of a gunboat on the Mississippi. His family moved near New Orleans, and there Mrs. Farragut died of yellow fever about a year later. Just before her illness, a stranger, an old man who had had a sunstroke, had been taken into her home and cared for. This stranger was the father of Commodore David Porter. The grateful naval officer offered to adopt and educate one of the Farragut boys. After the mother’s death, this offer was accepted for David. The little fellow was sent to school and at the age of ten he became a midshipman in the navy. He was very small for his age, and once when he went ashore a group of idlers gathered around and made sport of “the baby officer.” One waggish fellow sprinkled him with water from a watering pot to “make him grow.” This led to a fight between David’s tormentors and the sailors in which David took active part. After it was over, someone remarked that “the baby officer was three pounds of uniform and seventy pounds of fight.”

In October, 1812, David sailed with Captain Porter on the Essex. Captain Porter was ordered to join the squadron in the Atlantic if he could: if not, to use his own discretion. He cruised about the Atlantic several months, capturing several British merchant-vessels, but not finding the American squadron. He then decided to make a cruise in the Pacific. There he captured several British vessels and gave timely warning to American ships that had not heard of the war. At one time provisions were scarce, and David, like the others, was on a short allowance of bread and water. In May, 1813, David, then twelve years old, was put in charge of a captured English vessel to take it to port. The English captain was very angry at having to take orders from the “baby commodore,” as Farragut was often called, but Farragut executed his orders with exactness and dignity.

In March, 1814, the Essex, off the coast of South America, was attacked by two English vessels and captured after a desperate fight in which the Americans lost one hundred and twenty-four men. Farragut was “a man on occasions,” and Captain Porter commended his battery in this action. The American sailors were made prisoners on parole and they were exchanged only a few weeks before the treaty of peace was made. The time was improved by Farragut in attending school. Between his cruises he was generally at school studying diligently, and at eighteen he stood the examinations required for a lieutenant, though he did not receive his promotion till several years later.

In 1822 Farragut went with his friend, Commodore Porter, to fight against the pirates which thronged the West Indian waters. The American fleet was composed of small fast-sailing vessels and of boats called the “mosquito fleet.” They had some exciting adventures and encounters with the pirates, whom they succeeded in driving from most of their haunts. A more formidable foe than the pirates was yellow fever. Twenty-five officers were attacked and of those twenty-three died; Farragut was one of the two who recovered. Soon after his return to America, Lieutenant Farragut was put in charge of the Brandywine to carry Lafayette to France.

In 1833 he went to Charleston under orders to uphold the revenue laws of the United States which South Carolina had threatened to nullify. The danger was averted and for the present he was not called upon to serve against his countrymen. During the years which followed he made many cruises but saw no active service. He was an excellent officer. One who knew him said, “Never was the crew of a man-of-war better disciplined or more contented and happy. The moment all hands were called and Farragut took the trumpet, every man under him was alive and eager for duty.”

In 1850 Farragut and three other officers were appointed to draw up a book of regulations for the navy. They devoted eighteen months of hard work to the task and made an excellent manual. A few years later the book appeared with a few changes; the names of the four men who had prepared it were omitted and the credit was given to men who had really done none of the work. The fair-minded and hard-working young officer was naturally indignant at this injustice.

Later, he was sent to California and spent four years establishing navy-yards near San Francisco. He was now captain, which was then the highest rank in the American navy. On his return to Washington in 1858, he was put in charge of a new vessel, the Brooklyn. This was very different from the old sailing-ships on which he had served, being one of the first steam war-vessels in our navy.

The clouds of the War between the States were now gathering over the country, greatly to Farragut’s distress. He was a southerner by birth but from boyhood he had been in the nation’s service and his strongest affections were for the American navy.

“God forbid that I should raise my hand against the South,” he said.

Yet when the war broke out he felt that he must choose the national cause. In January, 1862, he was sent in charge of a squadron to secure the Mississippi River for the Union. He was to capture Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip which defended New Orleans, then take the city, and afterwards sail up the river, subjecting the forts along the banks. He was in charge of the largest and best-equipped fleet that had ever been led by an American commander. It consisted of forty-eight vessels. An army of fifteen thousand soldiers under General Butler was sent to aid in the capture of New Orleans. Below the forts commanding the city, was a barricade of old vessels and logs fastened together with iron chains; above these was the Confederate fleet of fifteen vessels. For a week Captain Farragut’s mortar boats rained shells on the forts, then his gunboats broke the barricade. At four o’clock on the morning of April the twenty-fourth, his squadron passed the forts which had held back the British in 1815. Then they engaged in a desperate battle with the little Confederate fleet. Every vessel of it was captured or wrecked. Four days later the besieged forts surrendered, and on the first of May the Union troops under Butler took possession of New Orleans. Farragut was ordered to “pass or attack and capture” the Confederate forts between New Orleans and Memphis. He accordingly went to Vicksburg, but his expedition failed for lack of land-forces to support the attack. July 4, 1863, Vicksburg was taken by General Grant, and a few days later, Port Hudson was surrendered. This gave the Union forces entire control of the river. For his valiant and efficient service, Farragut was rewarded in 1862 with the rank of rear-admiral, created for his benefit. Thus he was the first admiral in the United States navy. Later he was made vice-admiral, and in 1866 he became admiral, each of the three ranks being created in his honor.