A 7.5' high bronze statue of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut stands on an 17' wide bluestone exedra both of which were sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Farragut is wearing a naval frock coat, which is blowing in the wind, and facing south. He is holding a pair of binoculars in his left hand and has a sword on his left hip. Three steps lead up to the exedra which is decorated with relief carvings of two female figures representing Loyalty on the left and Courage on the right. There are also carvings of a sword and of ocean waves. The monument was recast in 1994 from the original plaster model.
On the center of the exedra is the inscription:
DAVID GLASGOW
FARRAGUT
On the left side of the exedra a dedication to Farragut:
THAT THE MEMORY OF
A DARING AND SAGACIOUS COMMANDER AND
GENTLE GREAT-SOULED MAN WHOSE LIFE FROM CHILD-
HOOD WAS GIVEN TO HIS COUNTRY BUT WHO
SERVED HER SUPREMELY IN THE WAR
FOR THE UNION MDCCCLXI -
MDCCCLXV MAY BE PRESERVED AND
HONORED THAT THEY THEY WHO COME AFTER
AND WHO WILL OWE HIM SO MUCH MAY
SEE HIM AS HE WAS SEEN BY FRIEND AND
FOE HIS COUNTRYMEN HAVE SET UP
THIS MONUMENT A.D. MDCCCLXXXI
On the right side of the exedra a summary of Farragut's military career:
BORN NEAR KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE JULY V
MDCCCI - MIDSHIPMAN - MDCCCX - BATTLE OF ESSEX
AND PHOEBE - MARCH XXVIII - MDCCCXIV
LIEUTENANT MDCCCXXV - COMMANDER
MDCCCXLI - CAPTAIN MDCCCLV
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS - APRIL XXV
MDCCCLXII - REAR ADMIRAL MDCCCLXII
BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY - AUG V
MDCCCLXIV - VICE ADMIRAL - DECEMBER
II MDCCCLXIV - FIRST ADMIRAL OF
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MDLXXXVI - MDCCCLXVI - DIED
PORTHSMOUTH NEW HAMPSHIRE
AUGUST XIV MDCCCLXX
A sign next to the statue reads:
FARRAGUT MONUMENT
Saint-Gaudens first public monument commemorates Civil War Admiral
David Glasgow Farragut (1801 - 1870). The great success of this work assured Saint-Gaudens reputation as a sculptor, following its unveiling in New York's Madison Square Park in 1881.
The base with ideal reliefs and exedra seat, inspired by the Italian Renaissance, welcomes the viewer to linger and contemplate the sculpture and inscription recalling Farragut's life and heroic deeds. Architect Stanford White (1855-1906) assisted in the design of the base, the first of many collaborations with the sculptor.
The soft bluestone had deteriorated by 1935. Funded by a federal grant, New York City recreated it in granite and donated the original to this site. The bronze replica cast (h. 8 ft. 3 in.) of Farragut was made in 1994.
James Glasgow Farragut was born on July 5, 1801 at Campbell's Station, TN. He was the son of Jordi (George) Farragut, a native of Minorca, Spain and a naval lieutenant during the Revolutionary War and his Scots-Irish American mother Elizabeth Shine of NC.
David Farragut's naval career began at age nine when he was commissioned a Midshipman and ended with his death in 1870, at age 69, as the First Admiral of the United States Navy. Farragut saw action in the War of 1812 serving under Captain David Porter aboard USS Essex.
In 1922 Farragut became a lieutenant during the operations against West Indian pirates. In 1824, he was placed in command of USS Ferret. , which was his first command of a U.S. naval vessel. By 1847, he was commander of the sloop-of-war USS Saratoga and served in the Mexican-American War.
During the American Civil War he was a Rear Admiral aboard the flagship USS Hartford. He had famous victories in the Battle of New Orleans and the Battle of Mobile Bay, where he gave the famous command - “Damn the Torpedoes!" He was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and admiral on July 25, 1866, becoming the first U.S. Naval officer to reach that rank.
Farragut died on August 14, 1870 in Portsmouth NH (now Kittery, ME) at age 69. He is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.