Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's Service Coat and Cap
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's Service Coat and Cap
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- Physical Description
- Blue wool jacket with gold trim on sleeves and gold-colored buttons. Navy wool cap with a leather brim and leather trim. Adorned with a metal star.
- Specific History
- Service jacket and cap worn by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut while directing the fire of the flagship Hartford during the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. It was during the Battle of Mobile Bay that Farragut uttered the infamous words, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
- General History
- Farragut was born in Tennessee, raised in Louisiana, and lived in Virginia but at the outbreak of war he moved his family to New York and fought for the Union. The Battle of Mobile Bay was the culmination of his long naval career which began as an 11-year-old midshipman during the War of 1812. In 1866 Farragut became the first person in the history of the United States Navy to be awarded the rank of admiral.
- Object Name
- coat
- associated date
- 1862 - 1864
- user
- Farragut, David Glasgow
- worn
- United States: Alabama
- Physical Description
- wool (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 34 in x 16 in; 86.36 cm x 40.64 cm
- ID Number
- AF.11781
- accession number
- 51104
- catalog number
- 11781
- Credit Line
- Pauline Philip Lapidge
- subject
- Naval History
- Civil War
- Battle of Mobile Bay, 1864
- Civil War and Reconstruction
- See more items in
- Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, Naval
- Military
- ThinkFinity
- Exhibition
- Price of Freedom
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
