Battle of Mobile Bay · Julian O. Davidson / L. Prang & Co. · public domain
4 years
Span
4
Battles
10k
Dead
vs
Union
U.S. Navy — blockading squadrons
peak: ~670 ships
Welles → Farragut → D. D. Porter → Du Pont
Confederacy
C.S. Navy & coastal defenses
peak: ~130 vessels
Mallory → Buchanan → Semmes
Casualties (est.)
11,500 total
5,000 Union
5,000 Confederacy
1,500 Civilian
Commanders
D. Farragut
Rear Adm., W. Gulf Sqdn.
D. D. Porter
Rear Adm., Miss. Sqdn.
S. F. Du Pont
Rear Adm., S. Atlantic Sqdn.
F. Buchanan
Adm., CSS Virginia & Tennessee
R. Semmes
Capt., CSS Alabama
Geography
The naval war was a slow strangulation. The Union blockade — the “Anaconda” — sealed the Confederate coast port by port: New Orleans and the river forts in 1862, Mobile Bay in 1864, and finally Fort Fisher, which closed the last open harbor at Wilmington.
Campaigns across the war
4 here · others for context
Apr 1861
Fort Sumter · Charleston, SC
Read →Jul 1861
· Eastern theatre
First Bull Run · Manassas, VA
Aug 1861
· Trans-Miss theatre
Wilson's Creek · Springfield, MO
Feb 1862
· Western theatre
Fort Donelson · Dover, TN
Mar 1862
· Trans-Miss theatre
Pea Ridge · Benton Co., AR
Mar 1862
· Trans-Miss theatre
Glorieta Pass · New Mexico Terr.
Apr 1862
· Western theatre
Shiloh · Pittsburg Landing, TN
Apr 1862
· Trans-Miss theatre
Island Number Ten · Mississippi River, MO
Apr 1862
Forts Jackson & St. Philip · Mississippi River, LA
Read →May 1862
· Eastern theatre
First Winchester · Winchester, VA
Jun 1862
· Eastern theatre
Gaines' Mill · Hanover Co., VA
Jul 1862
· Eastern theatre
Malvern Hill · Henrico Co., VA
Aug 1862
· Eastern theatre
Second Bull Run · Manassas, VA
Sep 1862
· Eastern theatre
Antietam · Sharpsburg, MD
Oct 1862
· Western theatre
Corinth · Corinth, MS
Oct 1862
· Western theatre
Perryville · Perryville, KY
Dec 1862
· Eastern theatre
Fredericksburg · Fredericksburg, VA
Dec 1862
· Western theatre
Stones River · Murfreesboro, TN
May 1863
· Eastern theatre
Chancellorsville · Spotsylvania Co., VA
May 1863
· Western theatre
Champion Hill · Hinds Co., MS
Jul 1863
· Eastern theatre
Gettysburg · Adams Co., PA
May–Jul 1863
· Western theatre
Vicksburg · Vicksburg, MS
May–Jul 1863
· Trans-Miss theatre
Port Hudson · Port Hudson, LA
Sep 1863
· Western theatre
Chickamauga · Catoosa Co., GA
Nov 1863
· Western theatre
Lookout Mountain · Chattanooga, TN
Nov 1863
· Western theatre
Missionary Ridge · Chattanooga, TN
Apr 1864
· Trans-Miss theatre
Mansfield · De Soto Parish, LA
May 1864
· Eastern theatre
The Wilderness · Spotsylvania Co., VA
May 1864
· Eastern theatre
Spotsylvania Court House · Spotsylvania Co., VA
Jun 1864
· Eastern theatre
Cold Harbor · Hanover Co., VA
Jun 1864
· Eastern theatre
Second Petersburg · Petersburg, VA
Jul 1864
· Eastern theatre
The Crater · Petersburg, VA
Aug 1864
Mobile Bay · Mobile, AL
Read →Sep 1864
· Eastern theatre
Opequon · Winchester, VA
Sep 1864
· Western theatre
Jonesborough · Jonesboro, GA
Oct 1864
· Eastern theatre
Cedar Creek · Shenandoah Valley, VA
Oct 1864
· Trans-Miss theatre
Westport · Kansas City, MO
Nov 1864
· Western theatre
Franklin · Franklin, TN
Dec 1864
· Western theatre
Nashville · Nashville, TN
Jan 1865
Second Fort Fisher · Wilmington, NC
Read →Mar 1865
· Eastern theatre
Fort Stedman · Petersburg, VA
Mar 1865
· Western theatre
Bentonville · Bentonville, NC
Apr 1865
· Eastern theatre
Five Forks · Dinwiddie Co., VA
Apr 1865
· Eastern theatre
Third Petersburg · Petersburg, VA
Apr 1865
· Eastern theatre
Appomattox Court House · Appomattox Co., VA
Apr 1865
· Western theatre
Fort Blakeley · Baldwin Co., AL