Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead: The Story of Admiral David Farragut (Annotated)

Originally published in 1920 as a portion of the author’s larger “Boys’ Book of Sea Battles,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 24 pages, tells, in simple language, the story of David Farragut, the outstanding naval commander of the Civil War who captured the city of New Orleans (April 1862), extended Union control of the Mississippi River north to Vicksburg, and, most famously, issued the command “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” at the Battle of Mobile Bay in Alabama (August 1864).

Includes supplemental material:

• A Brief Summary of the Life of David Farragut
• About the Battle of Mobile Bay in Brief

Sample passage:
A pallor crept over the suntanned faces of her crew. Men who would have faced death unflinchingly from a cutlass or bullet blanched at thought of being blown up by hundreds of pounds of powder that they could not see or locate. They glanced at their commander. Noting the stern, determined look upon his face, their white faces flushed with shame—and they were men again, real men; the kind of men who, entirely forgetful of self, have saved many a nation and many a cause from being ground under the heel of defeat. In a silence like death, the “Hartford” passed safely through that path of deadly mines. Behind her, following her course unerringly, knowing that to deviate meant disaster, her sister ships also came through the lane, the constant targets for the missiles of the enemy from the forts. Already the Confederate ships had been captured or put to flight. Now the entire Union squadron came to anchor around their admired flagship in the upper part of the Bay, and the cheering of the crews rang out over the waters in all directions.

About the author:
Chelsea Curtis Fraser (1876-1954) was a Canadian-born historian and author. Other works include “Boy’s Book of Battles,” “Around the World in Ten Days,” and “Heroes of the Air.”