David Glasgow Farragut was born here on July 5, 1801. His father, George Farragut, came to the American colonies from Spain in 1776 as a merchant sea captain, fought for the colonies during the Revolutionary War, received land grants for his military service, married Elizabeth Shine of North Carolina, settled in Knox County, bought 640 acres here in 1796, and operated a ferry. The family moved to New Orleans in 1807, when George Farragut was commissioned as a Navy gunboat captain on the Mississippi River. Within a year, his wife died of yellow fever, and David Farragut's childhood essentially ended. He was commissioned a midshipman in the United States Navy on December 17, 1810, at the age of nine and a half, and saw his first naval combat during the War of 1812. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1822, commander in 1844, and captain in 1855. Despite strong ties to the South and Tennessee, he remained with the U.S. Navy when forced to choose between the Union and the Confederacy in 1861. At age 63 at the Battle of Mobile Bay, he became famous for saying, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" when warned of naval mines, and his victory closed the last Confederate port on the Gulf of Mexico. He was promoted to full admiral on July 25, 1866, and died on August 14, 1870.