USN ARTY Dahlgren, John A. - Rear Admiral

John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren

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Born: November 13, 1809

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Father: Bernhard Ulrik Dahlgren (1784-1824)
(Buried: West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania)​

Mother: Martha Rowan (1789–1838)
(Buried: West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania)​

1st Wife: Mary Clement Bunker (1817–1855)
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

Married: January 8, 1839 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2nd Wife: Sarah Madeleine Vinton (1825-1898)
(Buried: Saint Michael's Catholic Church Cemetery, Poplar Springs, Maryland)​

Married: 5pm on August 2, 1865 at the home of Rev. Dr. Cumins, pastor of St. Stevens Church, Washington, DC

Children:

Charles Bunker Dahlgren (1839–1912)​
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​
Ulric Dahlgren (1842–1864)​
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

Paul Dahlgren (1846–1876)​
(Buried: Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard, Portsmouth, Rhode Island)​
John B. Dahlgren (1847–1847)​
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

Lawrence Smith Dahlgren (1850–1851)​
(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​
John Vinton Dahlgren (1868-1899)​
(Buried: Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart Crypt, Georgetown, Washington, DC)​
Eric Bernard Dahlgren, Sr. (1866–1922)​
(Buried: Saint Michael's Catholic Church Cemetery, Poplar Springs, Maryland)​

Ulrica Dahlgren Pierce (1866–1925)​
(Buried: Saint Michael's Catholic Church Cemetery Poplar Springs, Howard County, Maryland)​

Signature:
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Nickname:
"Father of American naval ordnance"
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Antebellum History:


1823 - Began his career as a common sailor, shipped out on the brig Mary Beckett bound for Trinidad de Cuba​
1826 - Joined the United States Navy as an Acting Midshipman.​
1826-1828 - Duty onboard 38-gun Frigate U.S.S. Macedonian, cruising in the Brazils.​
1829-1830 - Duty on board the 22-gun Sloop-of-War, U.S.S. Ontario, cruising the Mediterranean.​
1830-1831 - Duty on board the 44-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Brandywine, cruising the Mediterranean.​
1831 - Duty on board the 38-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Constellation.
1832 - Appointed Midshipman​
1833 - Four months duty on board the receiving ship, U.S.S. Sea Gull at the U.S. Naval Station, Philadelphia.​
1834-1837 - Duty working on Coastal Survey, at Long Island, Connecticut, New York, & New Jersey, as well as duty in Astronomical Observation, and Triangulation.​
1836 - Selected to make observations of Solar Eclipses of that year.​
1837 - Promoted to Lieutenant, March 8.​
1837-1838 - Suffered a period of partial blindness, took a leave of absence from the U.S. Navy, seeking treatment in Europe.​
1838-1842 - On extended leave of absence from U.S. Navy, as he recuperated from blindness.​
1842-1843 - Returned to duty after full vision recovery, on Receiving Ship at the U.S. Naval Station, Philadelphia.​
1843-1845 - Duty as Flag Lieutenant on board the 50-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Cumberland, sailing the Mediterranean.​
1843 - Dahlgren begins to show his capacity for Gunnery​
1845 - On January 10th, while aboard the Cumberland, makes first successful attempts at Ordnance Invention with a spring percussion lock.​
1845 - On June 11th, witness to a gun accident during gunnery practice aboard the Cumberland, two men loosing an arm each.​
1847 - Assigned Ordnance Duty in Washington, DC, made Head of Ordnance Department at Navy Yard on August 18.​
1847 - Appointed part-time Professor of Gunnery at Naval School in Annapolis in addition to his duties at the Washington Naval Yard.​
1848 - Made first proposal for creating a Naval Light Artillery Boat Howitzer of Bronze.​
1849 - On November 13th, Dahlgen's Birthday, very narrowly escaped death from accidental bursting of an Experimental 32-pdr. Battery, witnessed death of gunner. Made safety of Naval Ordnance his top concern thereafter.​
1850 - On January 9, Submitted a plan to the Navy for a 9-inch shell gun of nine-thousand pounds. On January 15th he submitted a plan for a 50-pounder gun of eight-thousand pounds. Test specimens were cast at West Point Foundry, and ready for testing by May.​
1853 - Elected as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science​
1855 - On October 11, Commissioned as a Commander in the U.S. Navy​
1856-1858 - Sloop of War U.S.S. Plymouth assigned to Dahlgren's command as an Ordnance and Gunnery Practice Ship, with permission to equip her to Dahlgren's wishes with heavy and light guns.​
1856 - Published a book entitled Shells and Shell Guns
1857 - On June 24, U.S.S. Plymouth left port for a six-month cruise into the Atlantic with Dahlgren in command.​
1858 - On May 29th, U.S.S. Plymouth left port for a cruise to Cuba​

Civil War History:

1861 - On April 22, Captain Buchanan who's duty was to the Naval Yard resigned, leaving the Dahlgren unofficially in charge.​
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1861 - On August 2, Congress Authorized Commanders to Take Charge of the Yard, officially confirming Dahlgren the duty as Commandant of the Naval Yard in Washington, DC.​
1861 - On August 6th, Dahlgren was issued 4 Patents:​
- U.S. Patent #32,983 was issued for Dahlgren's Cast Iron Ordnance Design​
- U.S. Patent #32,984 for Method of Improvement in Cast-Iron Ordnance​
- U.S. Patent #32,985 for Improvements in the Manufacture of Cast-Iron Ordnance (Pattern for casting the cannon without cascabel or trunnions)​
- U.S. Patent #32,986 for Improvements in Elongated Projectiles for Rifled Cannon​
1862 - On July 18th, Dahlgren was given a commission as Chief of Bureau of Ordnance in the U.S. Navy.​
1862 - August 5th, Received appointment as a Captain in the U.S. Navy.​
1863 - February 7, Confirmed as a Rear-Admiral in the U.S. Navy.​
1863 - Beginning on July 6th, Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.​
1863 - Led the Union Navy in the blockade and siege of Charleston, South Carolina.​
1864 - February, led a successful expeditionary up the St, John's River.​
1864 - December 23, cooperated with General Sherman in the capture of Savannah.​
1865 - Relinquished command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
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Postbellum History:

1866-1868 - Assigned as Commander of the South Pacific Squadron​
1868 - Appointed Chief of Bureau of Ordnance​
1869-1870 Commander of the Washington Navy Yard​
1870 - Early in July, Dahlgren visited Gettysburg to see the Battlefield and search for the site of a new Summer Home near Chambersburg. On his return trip, he was soaked by a rainstorm, and had to endure his train ride home wet, which lead to a chest cold he never recovered from.​

Died: July 12, 1870

Age at Death: 60 years old

Place of Death: In his home at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC

Cause of Death: Chest Pains following a Chest Cold

Burial Place: Washington Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC

Reinterred: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Section L, 50-56

Historical Legacy:

1882 - Dahlgren's Memoirs are published by his wife:​
Dahlgren, Madeleine Vinton. Memoir of John A. Dahlgren, Rear-admiral United States Navy. Boston, J. R. Osgood, 1882.​


 
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