The Cruise of Admiral Farragut, Presentation Copy to General U.S. Grant, Fantastic Association

[Ulysses S. Grant]. James Eglinton Montgomery. "Our Admiral’s Flag Abroad. The Cruise of Admiral D.G. Farragut, Commanding the European Squadron in 1867-68, in the Flag-Ship Franklin." New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1869. First edition. Thirty-nine engraved illustrations, with Thomas Nast contributions. Sabin 50151 (trade edition). A presentation copy inscribed on the front free endpaper to: “His Excellency / U.S. Grant / Pres of the United States / With the compliments of / the Author - New York May 12: 1869.” Inscription is done in an unknown hand in author's absence, but some feel it is in Farragut's hand. Facsimile signature beneath frontispiece portrait of Farragut. With Jesse R. Grant’s library stamp on the front pastedown. Pages show toning at edges, scattered foxing throughout. Green cloth boards stamped in gilt show scuffing, soiling and chipping at spine. Large paper special edition.

David Farragut (1801-1870) literally grew up in the Navy. Commodore David Porter informally adopted him in 1810, took him on board his ship and made him a Midshipman at age 9. At age 12, Farragut was made prize master of a vessel Porter captured in the Pacific. He fought in the War of 1812, then served in the Mediterranean for five years. In the mid-1820s he took some schooling on dry land, attended classes at Yale and sat through a lecture series at the Smithsonian in Washington. Otherwise, he was entirely self-taught. Over the course of his life he attained fluency in French, Italian, Spanish and Arabic. His professional attainments in the Navy, however, were slow in coming. The moribund peacetime force provided few opportunities for advancement. Added to this, Farragut’s disinclination to suffer fools antagonized many of his superiors. “His independence in thought and action,” one biographer wrote, “disqualified him as a ‘climber’ either inside or outside of the navy.”

Not even the outbreak of the Mexican War could accelerate his advancement. Only in 1847 was he given command of the Saratoga and sent to Vera Cruz, but by the time he arrived General Scott had already captured the town. Another clash with a superior officer found Farragut consigned to undistinguished blockade duty. The Confederate rebellion finally provided him with the opportunities he had craved for so long. In December 1861 he was given command of a fleet with orders to take New Orleans, which he did by the end of April 1862, one of the few Union triumphs in the war’s early going. By the end of 1862 he captured all of the major ports in the lower Mississippi except for Vicksburg and Mobile. Grant took care of the former, but Farragut won the latter in his famous engagement of August 5-7, 1864. Lashed to the mainmast, where he could better observe the battle, Farragut confronted a crisis when the lead ship in his flotilla struck a mine and sank, throwing the other ships in the line into confusion. A decisive command decision had to be made. Farragut recalled making a desperate prayer to the heavens, then, much less prayerfully, he shouted his famous “Damn the torpedoes!” line. Rank and distinction were finally his. In December 1864, Lincoln made him a vice-admiral, and in July 1866, Congress created the rank of Admiral just for him.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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