|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
Guided Missile Destroyer
|
|||||
DDG 99
- USS Farragut
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
||||
Type,
Class:
|
|
Guided Missile Destroyer; Arleigh Burke - class / Flight
IIA;
planned and built
as DDG 99 |
|||
Builder:
|
|
||||
STATUS:
|
|
Awarded:
March 6, 1998 Laid
down: January 7, 2004 Launched: July 9, 2005 Commissioned: June 10, 2006 ACTIVE
UNIT/ in commission (Atlantic Fleet) |
|||
Homeport:
|
|
Mayport, Florida, USA
|
|||
Namesake:
|
|
Named after and in
honor of Admiral David
Glasgow Farragut (1801 - 1870) > see history, below;
|
|||
Ship's
Motto:
|
|
PREPARED FOR BATTLE
|
|||
Technical Data:
(Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)
|
|
||||
LINK :
|
|
see
also: USS
Farragut (DDG 37) |
|||
|
|
|||||
ship
images
|
|||||
|
Charleston, South Carolina - March 2011
Mayport, Florida - August 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Arabian Sea - May 2010
Gulf of Aden - May 2010
Gulf of Aden - May 2010
Gulf of Aden - May 2010
Indian Ocean - March 2010
SH-60B Sea Hawk (HSL-42) - Gulf of Aden -
March 2010
Arabian Sea - February 2010
Gulf of Aden - February 2010
SH-60B Sea Hawk (HSL-42) - Gulf of Aden -
February 2010
Gulf of Aden - February 2010
Tomahawk missile launch - Atlantic Ocean
- August 2009
Panama Canal - August 2008
Atlantic Ocean - February 2008
trials (DDG-99 website)
construction photo (DDG-99 website) |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
David Glasgow Farragut |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Namesake & History: |
|||||
|
Admiral David
Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870): A
significant contributing factor to the Union success at Vicksburg was the
skill of the North's naval commanders. One of the most colorful naval
commanders of the Civil War was David Glasgow Farragut. Though he was
unsuccessful in early naval operations against Vicksburg, Farragut's success
at New Orleans and Mobile Bay secured his place in history as one of
America's most celebrated heroes. The man who would become the first Admiral
of the United States Navy was born James Glasgow Farragut near Knoxville,
Tennessee on July 6, 1801. His father, Jorge Farragut, hailed from a
seafaring family and emigrated to this country in 1776 from the island of
Minorca, off the east coast of Spain. Before his death in 1817, Jorge
Farragut would serve his country gallantly in the revolutionary War and the
War of 1812. Young James would soon follow in his father's footsteps. David
Porter, one of the Navy's finest officers, befriended the Farragut family
through an unusual chain of events in which the Farraguts rescued Porter's
unconscious father from the deck of a drifting boat. When the elder Porter
passes away, David was grateful to the family for taking care of his father
and offered to take young James and train him as a naval officer. Since it
was not uncommon then for parents to have a child adopted by someone who
could train them in a career, James Glasgow Farragut became the adopted son
of David Porter and changed his name to David G. Farragut. David followed his
adopted father to the sea at the tender ago of eight and received his first
naval appointment as midshipman at large at the age of nine and a half. At
age eleven he saw his first combat and even commanded a vessel at age twelve!
The young sailor had seen a lot during his four years at sea, but his
greatest achievement was yet to come. "I
am to have a Flag in the Gulf, and the rest depends on me." Fifty
years later at the outbreak of the Civil War, David Farragut had a difficult
decision to make. He was born in Tennessee, raised in Louisiana, and lived in
Virginia, yet he felt more devoted to the country he had served for more than
five decades. He decided to join the Union and moved his family north. In
January 1862, Farragut was named Flag Officer in command of the West Gulf
Blockading Squadron with instructions to enter the Mississippi and capture
New Orleans. He was placed in command of eighteen wooden vessels including
his flagship HARTFORD, a fleet of mortar boats, and 700 men. To the
objection of his stepbrother David Dixon Porter, who was in charge of the
mortar boat flotilla, Flag Officer Farragut made the decision to run past
Forts Jackson and St. Philip to take the city of New Orleans. To prepare the
ships to run past the forts, the crews crisscrossed the hulls with great
chains until they were almost as well protected as the ironclads. Further,
since he planned to pass the forts at night, Farragut had the hulls covered
with mud from the Mississippi to make them less visible from the shore and
had the decks painted white so that needed objects would stand out clearly.
He even had tall trees lashed to the masts of his vessels so that the enemy
would think they were trees on the opposite bank! Farragut's
strategy worked. The commander described the intense passage: "The smoke
was so dense that it was only now and then we could see anything but the
flash of the cannon ... The passing of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was one
of the most awful sights I ever saw." His own vessel, the HARTFORD, was
disabled when a raft set afire rammed the flagship and flames damaged the
masts and rigging. Nevertheless, the fleet safely reached New Orleans and
took possession of the city on April 28, 1862. "I
mean to be whipped or to whip my enemy, and not be scared to death" In May
of 1862, Farragut attempted to subdue the city of Vicksburg, located about
400 river miles above New Orleans but his bombardment was unsuccessful. He
did not have enough guns in his fleet to overwhelm the city. Plus,
Vicksburg's 200-foot river bluffs were so high that many of his guns could not
get sufficient elevation to hit the Confederate defenses. Fearing the
receding waters of the Mississippi might strand his oceangoing warships in
the summer months, Farragut reluctantly decided to withdraw from the river
city. He left six gunboats below Vicksburg and returned to New Orleans. Upon
his return to the Crescent City, Farragut began organizing a second, stronger
expedition against the "Gibraltar of the West." His fleet arrived
below the Vicksburg bluffs once again on June 25, 1862 and began preparations
for a second bombardment. Farragut then received news that Charles H. Davis,
commander of the Western Flotilla, had finally captured Fort Pillow and
Memphis and was now only 20 miles north of Vicksburg. Consequently, Farragut
decided to run his fleet north past Vicksburg, just as he had done at Forts
Jackson and St. Philip, and rendezvous with Davis. At the
appointed hour of 0200 on June 28, 1862, Farragut raised two red lanterns on
the mast of the HARTFORD as a signal for the fleet to proceed. The ships were
spotted at 0400 and Vicksburg's 29 heavy guns were answered by the guns of
Farragut's fleet. All of Farragut's ships but three made it through and none
were sunk; however, some were badly hit, including the HARTFORD. The
captain's cabin was blown apart by a shell just seconds after Farragut had
moved to another part of the ship! Although
running the batteries was a gallant act, Farrgut's juncture with Davis did
little to bring about the subjugation of Vicksburg. It was clear a combined
naval and land attack would be necessary to subdue the "Gibralter of the
West." Before
Farragut withdrew his fleet from Vicksburg a second time, he had an encounter
with the Confederate ironclad ARKANSAS. Launched at Yazoo City and commanded
by Isaac Brown, the ARKANSAS bravely plunged into the midst of the
thirty-eight Union warships anchored above Vicksburg in mid-July 1862.
Brown's attack was aided by an element of surprise, and the fact there were
so many Union ships they had very little room in which to maneuver. As a
result, Farragut's warships were only able to bring a few guns to bear at a
time against the formidable ironclad. During the fighting, the ARKANSAS
caused serious damage to the HARTFORD and Farragut was furious that a
makeshift enemy ironclad had steamed right through his fleet. He had enough
of the pesky ironclad. Fearing once again his vessels would be stranded due
to dropping river levels, Farragut decided to withdraw from Vicksburg and
sailed south. The withdrawal of the Union fleet from Vicksburg in July of
1862 closed the first phase of Union naval operations against the city. "Damn
the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" Two
years later In 1864, Rear Admiral Farragut was summoned from his Now York
home to serve his country once more in leading an attack on Mobile Bay, the
last Confederate stronghold in the Gulf of Mexico. Mobile Bay was not only
protected by Fort Morgan and a fleet of wooden vessels, but also by the
formidable Confederate Ram TENNESSEE and a field of explosive mines called
torpedoes. Undaunted, Farragut readied his fleet for battle. Using a strategy
that had worked before, he ordered his wooden ships lashed together in pairs,
one large and one small. In this manner, if the larger frigate was disabled
in battle, the smaller vessel could tow it into safety. Farragut's
fleet of wooden ships, along with four small ironclad monitors, began the
attack on Mobile Bay early in the morning of August 5, 1864. When the smoke
of battle became so thick that he couldn't see, Farragut climbed the rigging
of the HARTFORD and lashed himself near the top of the mainsail to get a
better view. It wasn't long before the TECUMSEH, one of the monitors leading
the way, struck a torpedo and sank in a matter minutes. In a state of
confusion, the fleet came to a halt in front of the powerful guns of Fort
Morgan. Realizing the fleet was reluctant to move forward due to the
"infernal machines," Rear Admiral Farragut rallied his men to
victory, shouting: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" The
Union fleet steamed ahead through the minefield, blasted Fort Morgan, and
captured the Confederate ironclad TENNESSEE. Thus, Mobile Bay fell into Union
hands in one of the most decisive naval victories of the Civil War. The
Battle of Mobile Bay would be Farragut's last. Overcome with fatigue he
returned to New York in December 1864 a national hero. In 1866, Farragut
became the first person in the history of the United States Navy to be
awarded the rank of Admiral. Two years later In 1868, he was even asked run
for the office of President of the United States, but replied, "I hasten
to assure you that I have never for one moment entertained the idea of
political life." Farragut would have only two years to live. The first
Admiral of the Navy died on August 14, 1870 it the age of 69. His funeral
procession in New York City included 10,000 soldiers and sailors and was
headed by President Ulysses S. Grant. A statue of Admiral Farragut was
erected in the heart of our nation's capital known as Farragut Square. It
remains a lasting tribute to the most distinguished naval officer of the
Civil War. source:
USS Farragut DDG-99 homepage |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
USS Farragut (DDG 99): |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
patches |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
