The New Student's Reference Work/Dahlgren, John Adolph

ADMIRAL DAHLGREN

Dahlgren (däl' grĕn) John Adolph, an American naval officer, was born at Philadelphia in 1809, and died in 1870. He early entered the navy as midshipman, and soon rose in rank. While employed in the ordnance-department from 1847 to 1857, he made a series of experiments in the construction of heavy shell guns, which resulted in the adoption of a new pattern, called the Dahlgren gun. It is a muzzle-loading, cast-iron, smooth-bore gun, with great thickness of metal at the breech. Many of these guns are still in the United States service. Dahlgren also invented a rifled cannon for naval warfare. He did good service in the Civil War, being appointed rear-admiral and having command of the South Atlantic squadron. In 1869 he took command of the Washington navy yard, which he had held before the war.