Damn the Torpedoes!
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (71378)
United States
January 28, 2025 9:41pm CST
Most of you have heard the famous battle cry, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Today I went to the place where that famous line was allegedly uttered: Fort Morgan, Alabama.
Fort Morgan began during the War of 1812 as Fort Bowyer. In the 1820s the fort was demolished in favor of a newer fort. Opened in 1839, it was named after General Daniel Morgan, a Revolutionary War hero.
Two significant battles took place in the same area, 50 years apart. As Fort Bowyer, the Americans repelled an attempt by the British Navy to go through Mobile Bay to the interior of the U.S. during the War of 1812. Outnumbered and working from a “fort” that wasn’t even completely, the Americans inflicted heavy casualties on the British, even destroying Captain William Percy’s flagship.
The more notable one was the Battle of Mobile Bay, during the Civil War. This is the battle during which Admiral David Farragut famously said, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” as he ordered the Union ships into Mobile Bay, past the Confederate-held Fort Morgan. Despite the Confederacy’s use of a relatively new weapon, “torpedoes” (mines thrown into rivers or bays), Admiral Farragut charged his ships into the bay on August 4, 1864. The commonly-held belief is that Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes, four bells!” (“Four bells” was a signal for full power.)
Of course, because it’s Civil War history, I was on it!!! The grounds have markers showing where barracks had been during World War II (Fort Morgan was decommissioned in 1944), plenty of locations of batteries in various conditions, and enough history to make an old woman happy for a couple of hours!
Oh, and a view: much like the view I saw last year at one of the forts on the east coast of Florida, the wall of Fort Morgan allowed for some spectacular views of the bay.
And after all of that, we have a really cool state historical site…and Tom Petty got the name of an album.
PHOTO COLLAGE:
(Top left) Anchor on the grounds
(Top center) Memorial to the dead from both the Union and Confederate armies and navies
(Top right) A re-creation of what the barracks would have been like during the Civil War
(Bottom left) A replica of a Confederate torpedo that Admiral Farragut wasn’t too concerned about
(Bottom right) The entrance to Fort Morgan
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15 people like this
13 responses
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@JudyEv (346102)
• Rockingham, Australia
29 Jan
@FourWalls Kids these days really don't know how well off they are.
3 people like this
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@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
I do too. Any time I see something history-related I’m going for it!!
3 people like this
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@kareng (67795)
• United States
29 Jan
@FourWalls
I will have to look for the sign for Fort Morgan the next time we go that way!!
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1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
I was waiting for those Morgan and Morgan people to pop up and ask if I’d been injured.
Fort Morgan is way on the other side, on that little peninsula on the east side of Mobile Bay.
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1 person likes this
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@kaylachan (74952)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Jan
@FourWalls Well, George has. You know I should've asked him.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
It’s one of those Navy sayings that did make its way into popular lexicon, to the point where Tom Petty named an album after it!
2 people like this
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@Tampa_girl7 (51373)
• United States
29 Jan
I have been to a good many forts, but not Fort Morgan. Thanks for a glimpse of it.
3 people like this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
I’m surprised we never hit it when I was little. That’s okay, I took care of it this time! ![](/Content/images/emotes/lol.gif)
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1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (106595)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
29 Jan
Nice pictures of Fort Morgan on this site.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
Thank you. It was a lovely site, everywhere!
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (106595)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
29 Jan
@FourWalls You are welcome.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (185149)
• United States
29 Jan
It is nice to learn the history of common sayings. I had no idea the War of 1812 was that expansive
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
It was pretty brutal. “The Star-Spangled Banner” came from that war during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. Washington was burned. The Battle of New Orleans was the final skirmish in the war, in January, 1815.
@RebeccasFarm (92007)
• Arvada, Colorado
29 Jan
This time fascinates me..thanks for the thoroughness.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
You’re welcome. Needless to say, it fascinates me as well.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (82466)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Jan
Very interesting and I guess now it is up and onwards and full speed ahead,
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
30 Jan
Hardly full speed…I haven’t gone 70 miles in two days. ![](/Content/images/emotes/rofl.gif)
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1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
I know. That’s why I love to travel so much.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118252)
• Anniston, Alabama
29 Jan
I've been to Fort Morgan, way back....20 years ago.
2 people like this
@arunima25 (88835)
• Bangalore, India
29 Jan
Good to know that you enjoyed the trip and found enough history to keep you happy and entertained ![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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1 person likes this
@FourWalls (71378)
• United States
29 Jan
Plenty of history to find, if you just look for it. ![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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1 person likes this
@arunima25 (88835)
• Bangalore, India
30 Jan
@FourWalls Very true! We just need to be keen for that
1 person likes this
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