USN Dahlgren, John A. - Rear Admiral

John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren​

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:

Nickname: "Father of American naval ordnance"

Antebellum History:

1823 - Began his career as a common sailor, shipped out on the brig Mary Beckett bound for Trinidad de Cuba​

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1826 - Joined the United States Navy as an Acting Midshipman.​

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1826-1828 - Duty onboard 38-gun Frigate U.S.S. Macedonian, cruising in the Brazils.​

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1829-1830 - Duty on board the 22-gun Sloop-of-War, U.S.S. Ontario, cruising the Mediterranean.​

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1830-1831 - Duty on board the 44-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Brandywine, cruising the Mediterranean.​

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1831 - Duty on board the 38-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Constellation.​

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1832 - Appointed Midshipman​

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1833 - Four months duty on board the receiving ship, U.S.S. Sea Gull at the U.S. Naval Station, Philadelphia.​

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1834-1837 - Duty working on Coastal Survey, at Long Island, Connecticut, New York, & New Jersey, as well as duty in Astronomical Observation, and Triangulation.​

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1836 - Selected to make observations of Solar Eclipses of that year.​

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1837 - Promoted to Lieutenant, March 8.​

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1837-1838 - Suffered a period of partial blindness, took a leave of absence from the U.S. Navy, seeking treatment in Europe.​

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1838-1842 - On extended leave of absence from U.S. Navy, as he recuperated from blindness.​

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1842-1843 - Returned to duty after full vision recovery, on Receiving Ship at the U.S. Naval Station, Philadelphia.​

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1843-1845 - Duty as Flag Lieutenant on board the 50-gun Frigate, U.S.S. Cumberland, sailing the Mediterranean.​

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1843 - Dahlgren begins to show his capacity for Gunnery​

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1845 - On January 10th, while aboard the Cumberland, makes first successful attempts at Ordnance Invention with a spring percussion lock.​

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1845 - On June 11th, witness to a gun accident during gunnery practice aboard the Cumberland, two men loosing an arm each.​

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1847 - Assigned Ordnance Duty in Washington, DC, made Head of Ordnance Department at Navy Yard on August 18.​

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1847 - Appointed part-time Professor of Gunnery at Naval School in Annapolis in addition to his duties at the Washington Naval Yard.​

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1848 - Made first proposal for creating a Naval Light Artillery Boat Howitzer of Bronze.​

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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.​

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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.​

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1852 - Published The System of Boat Armament in the United States Navy​

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1853 - Elected as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science​

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1853 - Issued Ordnance Memoranda: Naval Percussion Locks and Primers, Particularly Those of the United States​

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1855 - On October 11, Commissioned as a Commander in the U.S. Navy​

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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.​

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1856 - Published a book entitled Shells and Shell Guns​

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1857 - On June 24, U.S.S. Plymouth left port for a six-month cruise into the Atlantic with Dahlgren in command.​

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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.​

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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​

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1862 - On July 18th, Dahlgren was given a commission as Chief of Bureau of Ordnance in the U.S. Navy.​

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1862 - August 5th, Received appointment as a Captain in the U.S. Navy.​

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1863 - February 7, Confirmed as a Rear-Admiral in the U.S. Navy.​

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1863 - Beginning on July 6th, Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.​

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1863 - Led the Union Navy in the blockade and siege of Charleston, South Carolina.​

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1864 - February, led a successful expeditionary up the St, John's River.​

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1864 - December 23, cooperated with General Sherman in the capture of Savannah.​

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1865 - Relinquished command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Postbellum History:

1866-1868 - Assigned as Commander of the South Pacific Squadron​

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1868 - Appointed Chief of Bureau of Ordnance​

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1869-1870 Commander of the Washington Navy Yard​

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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.​

The Evening Telegraph, published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1870​

 

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13 Nov 1809

John A.B. Dahlgren, US Union Lt Adm and inventor (Civil war Dahlgren cannon), was born. He was born in Philadelphia, PA, and when he turned 16 he joined the U.S. Navy as a midshipman. After many years at sea he was assigned to the navy's ordnance bureau at Washington, D.C. in 1847. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he became the head of the Washington Navy Yard after Captain Franklin Buchanan resigned that post to enlist in the Confederate cause. In 1862 Dahlgren was promoted to captain and named head of the navy's Ordnance Bureau. In July of 1863 Dahlgren was promoted to rear admiral and assigned command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Dahlgren weapons are usually divided into three groups – bronze boat howitzers and rifles, iron smoothbores, and iron rifles. The designer, John A.B. Dahlgren of the U.S. Navy, developed the weapons primarily for use on small boats that patrolled the waterways. The necessity for these weapons was demonstrated by the Navy's experience during the Mexican War when small launches and other craft were assigned to patrol close to river and creek banks. Dahlgren was a Lieutenant when he was assigned to the ordnance department at the Washington Navy Yard. The first weapon systems were adopted by the Navy in 1850. These bronze 12- and 24-pounder pieces were specially designed for use on the small launches, but were also included on most naval vessels during the Civil War. His iron smoothbores were adopted in 1850 (9-inch gun) and 1851 (11-inch gun). Although these guns were designed for use against wooden ships, the iron-clad Monitor class ships carried two of these in their turrets. These weapons were later replaced by the 15-inch Dahlgrens in 1862. By the end of the Civil War, John Dahlgren, now a rear admiral, was responsible for the development and design of 12-pounder boat howitzers in several weight classifications (small, medium, and light), 20- and 24-pounder howitzers (some, including the 12-pounders, were rifled); 30-, 32-, 50-, 80-, and 150-pounder rifles; and 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 13-, 15-, and 20-inch rifles.

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FREE BOOK!

CONTRIBUTIONS TO NAVAL HISTORY NO. 8
The Autobiography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren
EDITED BY PETER C. LUEBKE
Naval History and Heritage Command
Department of the Navy
Washington, DC
2018

Not surprisingly, most of Dahlgren's autobiography concentrates on the Civil War period. He writes extensively about his own exploits and those of his sons. One of his sons, Ulric, served in the Union Army with distinction and was killed during a controversial cavalry raid on Richmond in 1864. Another of his sons, Charles, served with the Navy on the Mississippi River in operations against Vicksburg, where he gained experience putting his father's inventions to practical use. In his autobiography, Dahlgren also takes time to recognize the heroism of Union officers and men during the war. For example, he mentions the valor of Commander James Ward, the first Union naval officer killed in the war, in action against Confederate batteries, as well as the bravery of Sailors during battles in and around Charleston Harbor.

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/War%20and%20Conflict/civil-war/Dahlgren.pdf

Please use above link.

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