John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren

Loyalty:  Union

Born Date:  November 13, 1809

Born Place:  Philadelphia, PA

Died Date:  July 12, 1870

Died Place:  Washington, D.C.

Service:  Dahlgren joined the United States Navy in 1826 as a midshipman and was promoted to the coastal survey in 1834. By 1847, he was an ordnance officer, and at the Washington Navy Yard began to improve and systematize the procurement and supply system for weapons. He became famous as a Naval Ordinance officer before the onset of the Civil War. Invented a 11 -inch smoothbore cannon, the "Dahlgren Gun", that was used extensively in the conflict. In 1861, Dahlgren's superior at the Washington Navy Yard resigned to join the Confederate navy.

President Abraham Lincoln wanted to name then-Commander Dahlgren to the post of commander of the Washington Navy Yard. By law, however, that position could only be held by an officer with a rank of captain or above. Lincoln successfully persuaded Congress to pass a special act legalizing Dahlgren's appointment to the yard. In July 1862, Dahlgren was promoted to captain and made chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. n February 1863, Dahlgren was promoted to rear admiral and took command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In 1864, he helped William Tecumseh Sherman secure Savannah, Georgia.

He commanded Naval forces that repeatedly attacked and were repulsed by the Confederate forces in Charleston, SC harbor (August-October 1863). His assistance to General Sherman at Savannah contributed to that city's capitulation in December ,1864. Dahlgren took command of the South Pacific Squadron from Rear Admiral George F. Pearson in 1867. When he was relieved of the squadron's command in 1868, he returned to the Washington Navy Yard, where he again served as chief of the Bureau of Ordnance until 1869, and then as commandant of the yard until his death on July 12, 1870, at age 60.