Damn the torpedoes

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Damn the torpedoes is a well-known quotation that has passed into popular culture.

The original quotation was by U.S. Navy Admiral David Farragut during the Battle of Mobile Bay, during the American Civil War. Mobile, Alabama, at the time was the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were known as torpedoes at the time). Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When one ship struck a mine the others began to pull back, but Farragut shouted the order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" The bulk of the fleet succeeded in entering the bay and the heroic quotation became famous.

  • Damn the Torpedoes is a 1979 album by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
  • Damn the torpedoes is a 1971 book by J. E. Macdonnell.
  • Damn the Torpedoes: Naval Incidents of the Civil War is a 1989 book by Adolph A. Hoehling.
  • Damn the Torpedoes is a 1990 book by Paul Hellyer.
  • Damn the Torpedoes: Fighting Words, Rallying Cries, and the Hidden History of Warfare is a 1999 book by Brian Burrell.
  • Damn the Torpedoes: And Other Tales of Liveaboard Life is a 2003 book by Catherine Dook.
  • Damn the Torpedoes is the name of one of the racing boats in the video game Hydro Thunder.