To think, as the Cuban poet Virgilio Piñera pointed out, that living on an island is only “the damn circumstance of water everywhere”, is to conceive that the sea is a limit and not a path, a wall of water and not a flow of water. possibilities. This was not the dominant thinking of the Farragut family, whose lineage directly links the island of Menorca to the founding and national consolidation of the United States of America. Both Jordi Farragut and his son David were integral participants in events ranging from Independence to the American Civil War, a land that remembers and honors them as national heroes.
The beginning of this story dates back to the second half of the 18th century, when Menorca was booming as a promising commercial gem nestled in the center of the Mediterranean. Since the island was “ceded” to the British Empire in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, the new administration has encouraged the arrival of traders and merchants from far and wide.
During the first years, illustrious families of Greeks, Jews and, of course, English, took advantage of the tax and customs advantages promoted by the Duke of Argyll, first governor of the British Minorcato amass fabulous fortunes, traces of which are still visible in certain churches of Orthodox design and in sumptuous houses with balconies. binder of the eastern island.
While the port made Maó the administrative and commercial center, the ancient aristocracy and clergy of Ciutadella, groups which had concentrated the sum of political power since 1287, were increasingly relegated. The flourishing bourgeoisie gradually replaced the old privileges of the feudal lords. It was in this context that, on September 29, 1755, Jordi Antonio Magí Ferragut i Mesquida was born, the man who, years later, would save the life of the first president of the United States of America.
Ferragut saved George Washington’s life
Jordi Ferragut, who over the years changed his name to George, was the son of a long line of illustrious sailors, soldiers and clerics from Valencia who arrived in the Balearic Islands in the 13th century with the contingent of James I the Conqueror. Charles Lee Lewis, historian at the US Naval Institute, points out in his study of the Farragut family that “according to the testimony of his subordinates, he was one of the best trained and most prudent officers of his profession, impeccable in his habits, seriously.” and energetic, “who did not admit the word failure into the vocabulary of duty”.
Quickly adapted to the vicissitudes of maritime life after a brief stay in Barcelona, Farragut put his sailing talents at the service of the British crown. Around the second half of the 18th century, he left his little fishing llaüt moored in the port of Ciutadella and asked Governor Richard Kane for permission to command a privateer ship which fought alongside Catherine the Great’s imperial navy during the war. Russian-Turkish. From this conflict, Menorca inherited an ossuary where hundreds of Russian sailors who died after contracting scurvy rest, including a prince named Spiridoff. His time on the Crimean Peninsula quickly established him as a respected, feared, and combat-experienced commander despite his youth.
Robert L. Caleo, American journalist and researcher at the Admiral Farragut Academy – a prestigious maritime school located in Florida named after the illustrious Minorquins – points out that Jordi Farragut “arrived in what we call the 13 Colonies around 1776 as as captain of a ship. . Merchant ship that traveled between Veracruz, New Orleans (then under French rule) and Cuba. Shortly thereafter, he came into contact with the new South Carolina Navy and his sympathy for the ideas of national liberation and American independence led him to become a lieutenant in the Continental Navy, the origin of today’s U.S. NAVY.
The Revolutionary War, which lasted until 1783, established Farragut’s reputation as an exceptional soldier who gained notoriety among the disorderly but firm revolutionary intentions of the troops commanded by George Washington in several important battles such as the Siege of Savannah and the capture of Charleston, where, in addition, he commanded a troop of cavalry with the rank of captain. In the words of the man who would later become the first president of the United States and who, at the time, was barely a colonel, Farragut was a “short, stocky man, very courageous and with a funny character,” a description that was known after the Minorcan War. saved his life. Founding Father during the Battle of Cowpens, during which he was seriously wounded by a cannonball.
In the words of the man who later became the first president of the United States and who was barely a colonel at the time – George Washington – Farragut was a “short, stocky man, very courageous and with a funny character”, a description which became known after The Minorquin saved the life of the founding father during the Battle of Cowpens, during which he was seriously wounded by a cannonball.
After the war ended and American independence was consolidated, the courageous Minorquin retired to live a quiet life on land on the banks of the Mississippi River in what is now Pascagoula, Jackson County. Retired with the rank of major commander, he continued to collaborate with the United States Army, occasionally fighting the Native American nations that threatened the banks of the Mississippi. He married a young woman of Scottish origin named Elisabeth Shine, with whom he had two children. One would drown in 1814, the other was David G. Ferragut, the first admiral of the United States Navy.
David Farragut, the “Hispanic hero” of the Civil War
A few meters from the White House in Washington DC, one of the eighteen historic monuments dedicated to the Civil War overlooks the city from the top of a tall marble column. Located at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Pennsylvania Street, a bronze statue dedicated to David Glasgow Farragut crowns the square of the same name. More than 4,000 guests attended its dedication in 1881, including then-President of the United States James Garfield and senior Navy officials.
Although David was not born in Ciutadella like his father, his connection with the sea and his early dedication to maritime life would mark him from his earliest years. In his memoirs, Farragut Jr. remembers an expedition carried out in a sort of improvised llaüt with his father: “We went in this boat from New Orleans to Havana, a sort of canoe made of two pieces of wood instead of one. He always talked about the qualities of his little yawl, a boat he sailed on for many years even though his friends considered it a dangerous experience. “This love for the sea was very strong in my father. »
When his father died, David grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and entered the Navy with the rank of midshipman, sponsored by Commodore Porter, a friend of his father. In 1812, he participated in the capture of the English brig “Essex” and, at just 12 years old, he began to take part in important naval engagements. By 1823, he was already a seasoned war captain, entirely dedicated to the fight against English pirates and Caribbean corsairs.
With the start of the Civil War in the United States in 1861, Farragut decided to side with the Union, led by Abraham Lincoln, although he was from the southern states organized into the Confederacy. “Being a veteran officer at the time, he was given the mission of taking New Orleans. On the night of April 24, 1862, he succeeded in destroying a large portion of the Confederate States fleet, allowing Union troops to land under the protection of their flagship, the USS Hartford. It was a truly reckless act and decisive for the victory of the Union,” explains military officer and historian Miguel Ángel Ferreiro.
With the start of the Civil War in the United States in 1861, David Farragut decided to side with the Union, led by Abraham Lincoln. He has a bronze statue a few meters from the White House
For his actions during the Civil war was created ad hoc the position of Rear Admiral, with which he was recognized until August 1865, when he was again called upon to undertake what would be his greatest war action: the Battle of Mobile Bay. “Upon entering Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, he found the entire area riddled with contact mines (then known as torpedoes) which even sank several ships. Then he uttered the phrase with which he is still remembered: “To hell with the torpedoes, full steam ahead!”, and managed to enter the port and surrender the city after a hard battle with the battleship Tennessee,” explains Charles L. Louis.
At the end of the war, he was promoted and considered one of the most important commanders of the Civil War, which ended in 1865 with Union victory. “He is undoubtedly one of the greatest heroes of the American Navy and, thanks to his involvement in this conflict, he became the first admiral of this country”, they explain to elDiario.es from the Menorca Military Consortium .
On September 25, 2017, the Ministry of Defense of Spain and the Naval Staff paid public tribute to the son of this man from Menorca who, sailing on a small sailboat, managed to lay the foundations of this which is still today. one of the world’s leading naval powers.
