Born July 5: David G. Farragut

A leader of the Union forces during the Civil War, naval officer David G. Farragut first appeared on a United States stamp in 1903 as part of the 1902-03 Second Bureau Issue of engraved definitives.

Farragut, who was born July 5, 1801, in Campbell’s Station, Tenn., is featured on the $1 black stamp in that series (Scott 311).

In 1937, a 3¢ commemorative stamp honoring him along with another Civil War naval leader, David D. Porter, was issued as part of the 1936-37 Navy set (Scott 792).

The 1995 stamp set commemorating individuals and events of the Civil War included a 32¢ stamp for Farragut (Scott 2975g). The back of that stamp bears an inscription that reads: “Union Vice Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, 1801-1870. A midshipman at age 9. Electrified the North with daring naval assault to capture New Orleans. Yelled ‘Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!' during the attack at Mobile Bay.”

Text inscribed on the stamp panes containing the 2012 stamp commemorating the Battle of New Orleans (Scott 4664) and the 2014 Battle of Mobile Bay stamp (4911) both describe Farragut’s key role in those decisive battles.