Details
FARRAGUT, DAVID GLASGOW, 1801-1870, Admiral. Document signed ("D.G. Farragut") as Commander, U.S. Navy, Norfolk, 29 April 1850. 1 page, folio, integral blank, light blue stationery, mat burn at extreme edges. Rare.
FARRAGUT DOCUMENTS HIS FIRST WARTIME SERVICE IN THE WAR OF 1812 (AT AGE TWELVE)
A highly unusual record of Farragut's early naval career, comprising a "List of Ships Captured by the U.S. Frigate Essex on her last cruise in the years 1812 & 1813 on the Coast of Brazil and in the Pacific Ocean." It sets out, in neat tabular columns the names of the fifteen warships and merchant vessels seized ("Schooner Elizabeth," "Ship Montezuma," "Siringapatam," "Sir A.Hammond" etc.), their respective date of capture, tonnage, number of crewmen, number of guns and "how disposed of" (some are marked "burnt," others "recaptured"). Beneath, in a bold hand, Farragut signs a certification "That the above is a correct list of the Captures made by the...Essex...and that they were supposed to be worth at that time by a number of the residents of Valparaiso and the Officers, about $2,500,000 Dollars..."
Farragut entered the Navy as a Midshipman at the age of nine and spent most of his life in the Navy. His guardian Commander David Porter was given command of the Essex in 1811 and Farragut sailed with him. "In the War of 1812 when the Essex made her memorable cruise in the Pacific Ocean, the young midshipman gave a good account of himself...He was made a prize master of one of the Essex's prizes, the Alexander Barclay and although only 12, was ordered to sail the vessel to Valparisi (DAB). The Essex herself was defeated by two British warships in March 1814 and Farragut taken prisoner. In later years, Farragut served in the West Indies, the South Atlantic and in the Mexican-American War. During the Civil War, he planned and carried out the Navy's assault on the Confederate Mississippi River forts, the capture of New Orleans and the seizure of Mobile Bay.
FARRAGUT DOCUMENTS HIS FIRST WARTIME SERVICE IN THE WAR OF 1812 (AT AGE TWELVE)
A highly unusual record of Farragut's early naval career, comprising a "List of Ships Captured by the U.S. Frigate Essex on her last cruise in the years 1812 & 1813 on the Coast of Brazil and in the Pacific Ocean." It sets out, in neat tabular columns the names of the fifteen warships and merchant vessels seized ("Schooner Elizabeth," "Ship Montezuma," "Siringapatam," "Sir A.Hammond" etc.), their respective date of capture, tonnage, number of crewmen, number of guns and "how disposed of" (some are marked "burnt," others "recaptured"). Beneath, in a bold hand, Farragut signs a certification "That the above is a correct list of the Captures made by the...Essex...and that they were supposed to be worth at that time by a number of the residents of Valparaiso and the Officers, about $2,500,000 Dollars..."
Farragut entered the Navy as a Midshipman at the age of nine and spent most of his life in the Navy. His guardian Commander David Porter was given command of the Essex in 1811 and Farragut sailed with him. "In the War of 1812 when the Essex made her memorable cruise in the Pacific Ocean, the young midshipman gave a good account of himself...He was made a prize master of one of the Essex's prizes, the Alexander Barclay and although only 12, was ordered to sail the vessel to Valparisi (DAB). The Essex herself was defeated by two British warships in March 1814 and Farragut taken prisoner. In later years, Farragut served in the West Indies, the South Atlantic and in the Mexican-American War. During the Civil War, he planned and carried out the Navy's assault on the Confederate Mississippi River forts, the capture of New Orleans and the seizure of Mobile Bay.