This Week for Happy Hour: Drink the Torpedoes!

Admiral.  David.  Farragut.  Any Civil War enthusiasts/nerds in the house?

Most DC natives know the name Farragut from the downtown Metro stops, Farragut North and Farragut West, and the neighboring Farragut Square.  But Civil War buffs will tell you about Admiral David Farragut, who sailed the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, pre-Deepwater Horizon.

On this day, April 29^th, in 1862, Farragut captured the port city of New Orleans, pre-Katrina (wow, it’s been a rough decade for the Gulf, no?) from the Confederates – a decisive event in the War.

Two years later, Farragut and the Union Navy had gained control of the Gulf and the Mississippi River.  Only Mobile remained as the Confederacy’s last major port in the Gulf.  It was then that Admiral Farragut ordered his ships to attack through Mobile Bay.  The lunatic tethered himself to the mast of his flagship, the USS Hartford, and pointed the way.

But then, kaboom!

It turned out the waters were laced with sub-surface mines, or as they were called in Civil War parlance, torpedoes.  One of the lead ships was struck and sunk, and then others began turning back to avoid the underwater explosives.

“What’s the trouble?” shouted Farragut, still strapped to the mast.

“Torpedoes!” the crew shouted back.

“Damn the torpedoes!  Full speed ahead.”

The pair of brass balls on that guy, right?  The Union forces would go on to take Mobile, assume complete control of the Gulf, and ultimately prevail in the War Between the States.  And Farragut’s famous words would live on in the annals of history.

Right now, if you’re like me, you’re thinking one of the following things:

1) What an inspiring story!  But what’s it got to do with Happy Hour? 

2) What can I do to get my words to live on in annals? 

3) Farragut Square – is that where all the homeless people sleep?

The answers, in reverse order, are:

3) Yes.

2) If Ms. South Carolina can do it, I’m sure you’ll think of something.

1) It has EVERYTHING to do with Happy Hour!

Damn the torpedoes.  His words inspire headstrong self-sacrificial perseverance in the face of danger and disorientation – the perfect attitude to wear when pulling your bar stool up to the speckled marble.  

So let the spirit of Admiral Farragut possess your heart when you order your drinks this weekend. 

Car bombs, Jager bombs, and Kamikaze shots.  Damn them too, and drink the torpedoes.  They can’t sink us all.

See you there!