On 5th August 1864 a fleet of eighteen Union ships under Rear Admiral David G. Farragut entered Mobile Bay, Alabama on the Confederacy’s Gulf Coast. Their aim was to put the port out of action as a center for blockade running. The fleet passed under ferocious fire from Forts Gaines and Morgan- and through a minefield- before engaging Confederate vessels, including the ironclad CSS Tennessee. After heavy fighting they won a victory which ultimately led to the closing of Mobile to blockade runners.
(Thank you to the Price family for photos of the medal.)
Below - Battle of Mobile Bay, Passing Fort Morgan and the Torpedoes, August 1864. by J.O. Davidson, 1886, depicting the Union and Confederate squadrons at the moment that USS Tecumseh sank after striking a mine (torpedo). Confederate ships (left foreground) are Morgan, Gaines and Tennessee. Union monitors visible astern of Tecumseh are Manhattan and Winnebago. USS Brooklyn is leading the outer line of Union warships, immediately followed by USS Hartford.