Lincoln's Admiral

February 17, 1997
David G. Farragut (1801-1870) was America's first admiral. Drawing upon published primary accounts and secondary studies, Duffy (Czars) presents a narrative biography of this Tennessee-born hero, tracing his career through the epic sea fights of the War of 1812 (Farragut was only 10 when he "went to war as an officer in training"); his construction near San Francisco, in the mid 1850s, of the Navy's first West Coast navy yard; and his decision to remain with the Union when the country split in 1861. Most of the book concerns Farragut's daring Civil War exploits--the capture of New Orleans (April 1862), operations on the Mississippi River that included action at Vicksburg and Port Hudson and the epic Battle of Mobile Bay (August 1864). Duffy's descriptive writing is often compelling, and includes data on wooden and ironclad warships, cannon and mines, as well as thrilling tales of ship-to-ship action. He also details the difficulties faced by warships operating against heavy cannon placed on high ground to command the Mississippi River. Period maps and illustrations enhance the text. For the general reader, this is an excellent introduction to Farragut's life, but a more intensive, analytical biography utilizing fully Farragut's wartime correspondence at the National Archives, as well as the letters of his contemporaries, remains to be written.