Site of a great Union naval victory in the American Civil War. Aug. 5, 1864: Admiral David Farragut commanded the USS Hartford, flagship of a Union navy fleet that captured three Confederate forts south of Mobile. During this battle, the ironclad USS Tecumseh hit a mine and sank. Farragut famously cried "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
Union success in this battle, and the capture of Atlanta, rescued Abraham Lincoln's sputtering re-election bid.