The Battle of Mobile Bay secured the anchorage and neutralized its major forts, but it did not immediately capture Mobile. The Dog River bar restricted deep-draft warships from approaching the city closely enough to compel it by naval fire alone. Union commanders also lacked the land force required to advance and occupy the urban area. Mobile therefore remained Confederate until an army campaign took it in April 1865, a useful distinction between controlling a port's maritime access and holding the city behind it.
Notable Point · 3:57:22-4:00:03
Victory in the bay did not capture Mobile
Farragut closed the port's seaward approach, but shallow water and insufficient troops kept the city itself in Confederate hands until 1865.