Admiral Farragut Playground

S/S E 176 St bet. Crotona Av and Prospect Av

Bronx, 10457

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

“Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
-Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870)

Admiral David Glasgow Farragut was one of the great figures of the Civil War. His courageous naval victories during the bloody war established him as a national hero, and he eventually became America’s first admiral. Farragut was born on July 5, 1801, near Knoxville, Tennessee, and legend has it he entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman at the age of nine. He was captured by the British during the War of 1812, but was released and later served in the Mediterranean Sea. Farragut demonstrated a clear talent for naval affairs, and he advanced rapidly through the ladder of command, attaining the rank of commander by 1840. He participated in the blockade of the Gulf of Mexico during the Mexican War (1846-48), and was promoted to captain after establishing the Mare Island Navy Yard at San Francisco in 1854.