An amphibious plan for Mobile Bay

The Union plan paired a fleet entry into Mobile Bay with an army landing west of Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island. Grant's demands for troops elsewhere reduced the available landing force to about 2,000 men. Edward Canby agreed the plan with Farragut, while his subordinate Gordon Granger commanded the troops sent to carry it out. Granger wanted to move on 3 August, but Farragut waited for the monitor Tecumseh, which had been delayed at Pensacola. The Army landed before the fleet attacked, giving the Confederates time to reinforce Fort Gaines. Those additional men then faced isolation once Union ships controlled the surrounding water. Their capture was a favorable consequence of the delay; describing it as a deliberate trap risks mistaking a coordination problem for an intended strategy.