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Details
FARRAGUT, David G. (1801-1870), Union Admiral. Autograph letter signed (“D. G. Farragut”), to General Daniel Sickles (1825-1914), Flag Ship Hartford, Mobile Bay, 15 November 1864. 2 pages, 4to.
THE HERO OF MOBILE BAY—writing from that spot aboard his flagship—recommends a young man for the U.S. Naval Academy. "Some time since…Eaton expressed a desire to get his son an appointment at the Naval School, & I gave him such a letter as I could, not knowing the youth I could only speak of the Father, as a good officer who has always been zealous in the cause of his country & the discharge of his duties in the command of his vessel, & that I had no doubt the young man would emulate his parent as an officer in a profession he was so anxious to enter.” An earlier letter on the subject had evidently “miscarried” so he writes this follow-up and urges Sickles to “use your influence in his behalf with the executive.” Sickles, one of the many politically connected Generals who served on the Union side, saw action at several key battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where a he lost a leg, and yet continued to serve important non-combat roles from his headquarters in New York.
A fine association of Farragut with the site of his most famous victory, in Mobile Bay where, just three months before, on 5 August, where he uttered his immortal words, "Damn the torpedoes."
THE HERO OF MOBILE BAY—writing from that spot aboard his flagship—recommends a young man for the U.S. Naval Academy. "Some time since…Eaton expressed a desire to get his son an appointment at the Naval School, & I gave him such a letter as I could, not knowing the youth I could only speak of the Father, as a good officer who has always been zealous in the cause of his country & the discharge of his duties in the command of his vessel, & that I had no doubt the young man would emulate his parent as an officer in a profession he was so anxious to enter.” An earlier letter on the subject had evidently “miscarried” so he writes this follow-up and urges Sickles to “use your influence in his behalf with the executive.” Sickles, one of the many politically connected Generals who served on the Union side, saw action at several key battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where a he lost a leg, and yet continued to serve important non-combat roles from his headquarters in New York.
A fine association of Farragut with the site of his most famous victory, in Mobile Bay where, just three months before, on 5 August, where he uttered his immortal words, "Damn the torpedoes."