Mobile Bay (CG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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( laptain Stephen R Woodall, I SN t ' « • 1 1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 1 1 ; i : • ifficer ( !ap1 .mi Si ephen R. Woods 1 1 . l SN. w;i born in Washington, I C. «»n t; October 1945 He attended the l fnited States Naval Academy, gradu ating in L967. At Bea, Captain Woodall has s.-.-vrd in the rss LYNDE McCORMICK (1)I)(; 8) as Mam Propulsion Assistant, USS ENDURANCE (MSO 435) as Executive Officer and Navigator, USS SEMMES (DDG 18) as Operations Officer and Senior Watch Officer, USS LUISENO (ATF 156) as Commanding Officer, USS AYLWIN (FF 1081) as Executive Officer and Navigator, and USS KING (DDG 41) as ( !ommanding Officer. Ashore. Captain Woodall has attended the Naval War College, here he graduated with highest dis- tmction. He then studied at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he earned the Master of Science degree in both Operations Research and Applied Mathematics, and was the first recipient of the Militarj Operations Research Society Graduate Research Award for outstanding achievement in graduate research directed toward improving military force utilization. Captain Woodall has also earned the Master of ArU and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in World Politics from the Catholic University of America. Other assignments ashore include duty as a key analyst on the Maritime Balance Study (The Strategic Planning Experiment in the Maritime Balance Area) conducted for the Secretary of Defense, the Secretarj of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations, as a Cost Analyst in the Cost Analysis Branch I OP-96D i ir the Office of the CNO, as a Special Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, arid as the Deputy Branch Head and Long-Range Resources Analyst in the extended Planning Branch (OP-965) ir the Office of the CNO. Prior to assuming command of USS KING (DDG 41), Captain Woodall served a the Navy Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D. C. Following his com mand tour in USS KING (DDG 41), Captain Woodall served as the Director of the Division oi Professional Development at the United States Naval Academy, from June 1987 through July 1989. Prior U reporting aboard USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53), Captain Woodall served as Deputy Director, Surface Warfare Division (OP-32B) and as Deputy Study Director of the Revolution at Sea 2020 Study in the Office of the CNO. Personal awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with Combat V and Gold Star in lieu of £ second award, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V and Golc Star in lieu of a second award, and the Combat Action Ribbon. Captain W T oodall is married to the former Nancy Lori Mauldin of Virginia Beach, Virginia. They have one son, John.

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Battle For The Bay MOBILE BAY ukc» Ini name Imin the famous Civil Wai naval battle twecn l nion forces under the command ol Reai Admiral David Far- gut, .mil Confederate forces under the command ol Admiral Franklin K hanan. s Freedom ' s Flagship, MOBILE BAY proudly carries on c tradition ol |).in iotism and courage displayed In I he ships and i rews in is histoi u I). uiU-. Ii 1864, Mobile, Alabama, was the last Gull Coast port ol major signifi- mce still remaining in ( onfcdcraie hands. The onh entrance lo Mobile ,iv was ,i i flannel running between Forts Morgan and Gaines, reduced to width ol 1 i 11 yards by ( onledei.ue mines and obsitui lions. Such South- •n strategy forced Vdmiral Farragut to place his eighteen ship force with- -.is range ol Fori Morgan ' s heavy guns. Embarked in the flagship LARTFORD |usi outside Mobile Bay, Farragul scrutinized the forts and lu i bay defenses, sending in small boats by night to chart obstructions id minis Admiral Buchanan, the ranking officer ol the Confederate Navy, was dered to Mobile from Hampton Roads, Virginia, following his battle lh the MONITOR. He began to liantiialh work to organize .1 Heel ill ipes ol countering the imminent Union attack. The monitor TEN- ESSEE had been floated down rivei lo receive hei armor. Along with her me the three small, wooden gunboats MORGAN. GAINES, and SELMA. his group ol fout onfederate ships w.is .ill thai stood between the nion Meet .ind the port ol Mobil, Ihiongb the gauntlet ol Morgan and Gaines the two old shipmates .mil ,ii c.k h othei On the morning ol August 5, 1864, the sun rose bright and hot Mobil- es were .it then breakfasts ol commeal battercakes when the liist strokes tin- deep-toned old Guard House bell rang out. I he market bell then 10k up the tolling, followed b the gn.u bell ol the Cathedral. In five mutes, every bell in Mobil, ».,s pealing strokes ol alarm At the mouth ol the bay was .i spec tai le ol breathtaking magnifii en i ashed togethei b twos, wreathed in smoke from watei to m.isi top, .■Idling flame and thundei from two hundred guns, the Federal Qeei w.is inning the gauntlet between Morgan and laines Eighteen ships emu- on, in deadly determination I In fori opened lite ih .ill us guns, and the bay churned, Flames shot across the wati r, and noke boiled up. .is 1 1 from .i volcano fhirty miles away ai Mobile, the n ol the cannon could be heard Masts and rigging crashed upon the ill still tin fleeti .line on in steadi lini i rashed upon the dei ks, bui still the fleet came on in steady line. Abreast ol the fort, the monitor TECUMSEH veered from hei course and dashed at the TENNESSEE. She strut k .1 torpedo, and .i iciiifn explo- sion lose above the din ol the battle. For .i moment, hei s, rew revolved in the an and then she was gone, 1 he battle line broke, and ships bat ked up upon one .mother. With file from Fori Morgan raining upon them, they tangled in I he ( hannel. 1 hen Farragut, lashed in the rigging of the HART- FORD, damned the torpedoes and moved into the bay at lull speed. The TENNESSEE and her three tiny gunboats moved down to meet them, twentv guns against ne.i rU two hundred, and four ships againsl sev- enteen. The MORGAN, GAINES, and SELMA were put out ol the way almost immediately. Now u w.is si guns against nearlv two hundred, and the TENNESSEE stood alone against the enure Kedei al licet For two hours Farragut ' s ships milled about the greal ironclad, firing broadsides into her and ramming her with their prows. At times, she reeled undci the impact ol two blows .tt once, spinning dizzth and hurling her crew about the gun deck. Bolts thai held the plating were stripped by the coin ussion. and I lie nuts ricocheted within the ship. The Steel ing g at and smokcst.uk were shot ,iw.i and, at last, she lay helpless and choked with suffocating coal fumes. It was onh then thai the wounded Buchanan g.iw the order foi sui icihIci . As TENNESSEE ' S colors came down, one ■ ( the most importan t battles m the Civil Wai ended. I In ironclad had been defeated, but it had stood oil .i licet foi two 1 1 ou is Buchanan went to Pensacola, Florida, .is a prison- ii bui Ins ac Hon in Mobile Bay spelled the beginning ol the end foi W 1- en warships. With the Federal licet inside the Bay, Foi is Morgan and t Raines wen- iso- lated 1 loops were landed on Dauphin Island behind Lames, and on Mobile Point behind Morgan From land and sea .i bombardment began. t laines was surrendered the day aftei the naval battle, while Morgan held oui foi eighteen mote days undei fire. President Lincoln gave thanks i Vdmiral Farragul and Ins men foi then pari in tin battle In theii honor, a 100-gun salute was fired from every Navy yard and arsenal in the I nited States to Farragul went the supreme hono r, as he was named the Brsi lull admiral in tin I nited Mans Navy I cm by Mi aldwell Delaney Museum Direi toi ( in Ol Mobile

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L i varded the Top Gun Award as the outstanding student in the combat systems s ademic average. Lieutenant Commander Rosbolt wears the Navy Commendation Medal with vard. He is manned to the former Robin Louise Smalley of Livonia, Michigan Uzabetfa and Maggie. LCDRPaulK Rosbolt, USN Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Paul K. Rosbolt USN was horn in Detroit, Michigan, on 6 April, 1957. He attended the University of Michigan, and was commissioned via the NROTC program in 1978. At sea. Lieu tenant Commander Rosbolt has served in the USS WELCH (PG-93) as Weapons Sup ply Officer, USS JOSE- PHUS DANIELS (CG-27) as NTDS ' tfB cer and CIC Officer, USS MOOSBRUG- GER (DD-980) as Combal Systems Offi cer, and USS PRINCETON (CG-59) as com missioning Combat Systems Officer. Ashore, Lieutenant Commander Rosbolt has attended the Naval Postgraduate- School, where he earned the Master of Sci ence degree (with distinction) in ASW Sys- tems Technology. He was awarded the CNO ASW Award as the outstanding student in his curriculum, and the Navy League Award for maintaining the highest academic aver- age in his graduating class. Later, at Depart- ment Head School in Newport, R.I., he was pecialty, and the Navy League Award for highest Combat V and two gold stars in lieu of a third They have one son, Kevin, and two daughters,