04/13/2026
Courtesy of the Fort Gaines Historic Site:
For the Battle of Mobile Bay Confederate Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains and the Confederate Torpedo Bureau designed and deployed the torpedoes (naval mines) used in Mobile Bay during the Civil War. Rains, an expert in explosives, developed these stationary submerged mines, which were heavily deployed to defend the harbor in 1864.
The Inventor: Gabriel J. Rains led the Confederate Torpedo Bureau, creating various explosive devices including the "keg torpedo" used in water defenses.
Deployment: These "torpedoes" were not self-propelled, but rather submerged, anchored mines designed to explode on contact or via electrical detonation.
The Battle: On August 5, 1864, these mines sank the Union monitor USS Tecumseh, prompting Admiral David Farragut to declare "Damn the torpedoes!" and proceed into the bay.
Significance: Rains' torpedoes were crucial to the defense, with the minefield forcing Union ships into range of Fort Morgan's guns.
While many, including The Brandon brothers of Tennessee, were involved in the mining of the harbor, Gabriel Rains was the primary engineer behind the technology. "Damn the torpedoes. Four bells, Captain Drayton!" August 5, 1864. Aug 5, 2025 — The Brandon brothers of Gallatin, Tennessee. These 3 brothers enlisted in Co. H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment in 1861.
Battle of Mobile Bay -
The Confederate Torpedo Bureau, directed by Major General Gabriel J. Rains, contributed a passive weapon to the defense. Men of the bureau had planted 67 "torpedoes.
“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” in 1864 Rear Admiral David G. Farragut gave this famous order during the Battle of Mobile Bay in Alabama. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
The Man Whose Torpedoes Farragut Damned * Gabriel Rains during his service in the U.S. Army. Gabriel Rains was born on June 4, 1803 in New Bern, North Carolina, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1827. He began experimenting with mines, then called "torpedoes...
