A Pime Minister of Britain around WWI Disraeli. I don't even know how that is spelled. Man I'm gonna get kicked out of the cab for that answer. I'm gonna go look it up. Oh yeah, Tom Petty too!
David Farragut, while the Union Navy was steaming into Mobile (Alabama) Bay. For those who don't know, what we today call naval mines were called torpedoes during the American Civil War. One of the Union ships (the Tecumseh) struck a torpedo and sank with all hands in a very short time. When the other Union ships hesitated to proceed after that, Farragut issued his famous proclamation to "damn the torpedoes!"
That ranks up there with other great American military quotations such as "I have not yet begun to fight!" and "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!" Which would also make good trivia questions. I would bet most of us old-timers would know the origin of those quotes, but I would bet almost no schoolkids of today would have ever heard of them.
Admiral Farragut upon the hesitation of his flag captain to proceed directly into Mobile harbor during the Civil War. I believe in 1864.
BTW, torpedoes in that day did not mean what it does today. In the 1860's, torpedoes were underwater stationary explosives which would explode when something hit it. What we would call a 'mine' today.
A fun followup question would be, "What would we call the 'torpedoes' today?" These 'torpedoes' weren't the types of thingies we now think of as coming out of submarines ...
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Admiral Farragut
That would be Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War.
A Pime Minister of Britain around WWI
Disraeli.
I don't even know how that is spelled.
Man I'm gonna get kicked out of the cab for that answer.
I'm gonna go look it up.
Oh yeah, Tom Petty too!
David Farragut, while the Union Navy was steaming into Mobile (Alabama) Bay. For those who don't know, what we today call naval mines were called torpedoes during the American Civil War. One of the Union ships (the Tecumseh) struck a torpedo and sank with all hands in a very short time. When the other Union ships hesitated to proceed after that, Farragut issued his famous proclamation to "damn the torpedoes!"
That ranks up there with other great American military quotations such as "I have not yet begun to fight!" and "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!" Which would also make good trivia questions. I would bet most of us old-timers would know the origin of those quotes, but I would bet almost no schoolkids of today would have ever heard of them.
--chicopanther
Admiral Farragut upon the hesitation of his flag captain to proceed directly into Mobile harbor during the Civil War. I believe in 1864.
BTW, torpedoes in that day did not mean what it does today. In the 1860's, torpedoes were underwater stationary explosives which would explode when something hit it. What we would call a 'mine' today.
A fun followup question would be, "What would we call the 'torpedoes' today?" These 'torpedoes' weren't the types of thingies we now think of as coming out of submarines ...
-Mark Roulo
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