Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/74

54 and soon offered the remedy in the style of can- non known by his name, which for so many years constituted the naval armament of tlie United States. It was proposed by him in 1850, and the first gun according to his design was cast in May of that year. These guns are of iron, cast solid, and cooled from the exterior. They are distin- guished by great thickness at the breech, rapidly diminishing from the trunnions to the muzzle, and were the first practical application of results ob- tained by experimental determination of pressures at ditferent points along the bore. They are chiefly smooth-bores of nine- and eleven-inch calibre ; but Dahlgren also invented a rifled cannon, and intro- duced boat-howitzers with iron carriages, which were unsurpassed for combined lightness and ac- curacy. Under the sole direction of Lieut. Dahl- gren, the ordnance department at Washington acquired the most extensive additions, including the foundry for cannon, gun-carriage shops, the experimental battery, and equipment of all kinds. He was made commander in 1855, and, in order to introduce innovations that completely revolution- ized the armament of the navy, and to remove ob- jections particularly to his eleven-inch gun, which was then considered too heavy for use at sea, he was permitted to equip the sloop-of-war " Plym- outh " entirely as lie wished. The experimental cruise of this vessel lasted from 1857 till 1859. He was on ordnance duty at the Washington navy- yard in 1860-'l, and on 22 April, 1861, after the resignation of Franklin Buchanan, who entered the Confederate service, was given command of the yard, which was not only of great importance on account of naval resources, but also as the key of the defences of Washington on the left. Com- mander Dahlgren hastened to secure the only route left to the capital by the Potomac river, and, when Alexandria was seized, he moved down the left wing of the column under Col. Ellsworth. He was appointed chief of the ordnance bureau on 18 July, 1862, and shortly afterward promoted to be cap- tain, his commission- being antedated to 16 July. On 7 Feb., 1868, he was made a rear-admiral, re- ceiving at the same time the thanks of congress, and ten years additional on the active list, which, however, he did not live to enjoy. In July, 1863, he was ordered to relieve Admiral Dupont in the command of the South Atlantic blockading squad- ron. In July, August, and September of that year he co-operated with the land forces vmder Gen. Gill more in various attacks on the defences of Charleston, and succeeded, by silencing B'ort Sum- ter and the batteries on Morris island, in obtaining for the monitors a safe anchorage inside the bar, thus putting a stop to blockade-running. His fail- ure to take Charleston provoked some hostile criti- cism, but his operations had the continuous ap- proval of the navy department. He led a successful expedition up St. John's river in February, 1864, to aid in tlirowing a military force into Florida, co-operated with Slierman in the capture of Savan- nah, on 23 Dec, and entered Charleston with Gen. Schhumelpfennig on its evacuation in Febru- ary, 1865. In 1866 he was given command of the South Pacific squadron. lie was again chief of the ordnance bureau in 1868-'70, and a few months before his death was relieved at his own request and appointed to the command of the Washington navy-yard. His death was the result of heart-dis- ease. Admiral Dahlgren was a man of great per- sonal bravery, dignified in manner, and of exem- plary character. He published many scientific works on ordnance, which have been used as text- books in the navy. They include "Thirty-two- pounder Practice for Rangers " (1850) : " System of Boat-Armament in the U. S. Navy " (1852 ; French translation, 1855) ; " Naval Percussion Locks and Primers " (1852) ; " Ordnance Memoranda " (1853) ; " Shells and Shell-Guns," explaining his own sys- tem (1856) ; and various reports on ordnance, arm- ored vessels, and coast defences. After his deatir appeai-ed " Notes on Maritime and International Law," with a preface by his widow, indicating the plan of an uncompleted work (Boston, 1877). See " Memoir of John A. Dahlgren," by his widow (Boston, 1882). — His son, Uli'ic, b. in Bucks county. Pa., in 1842 ; d. near King and Queen's Court-House, Va., '4 March, 1864, removed to Washington with his father in 1848. In the intervals of study he spent his time in the navy-yard, where he became familiar with the construction and use of artillery, and was taught by the sailors to swim and row. He began the study of civil engineering in 1858, and in 1860 began also to study law in Philadel- phia ; but, at the beginning of the civil war, he re- turned to Washington, and just after the first battle of Bull Run was sent by his father to place and take charge of a naval batteiy on Maryland heights. He then became aide to Gen, Sigel, and served through Fremont's mountain campaign and through Pope's campaign, acting as Sigel's chief of artillery at the second battle of Bull Run. In November, 1862, he attacked Fredericksburg at the head of Sigel's body-guard of 57 men, and held the town for three hours, returning with 31 prisoners, and for his gallantry was detailed as special aide on Gen. Burnside's stafl'. He was after- ward on Gen. Hooker's staff, distinguished himself at Chaneellorsville, and as aide to Gen. Meade per- formed much dangerous and important service in the Gettysburg campaign at the head of a hundred picked men. On the retreat of the enemy from Gettysburg he led the charge into Hagerstown, and was severely wounded in the foot. His leg was amputated, and for a time his life was in dan- ger ; but he recovered, was promoted to colonel tor his gallantry, and, though obliged to walk on crutches, returned at once to active service. He lost his life in a raid planned by him, in concert with Gen. Kilpatrick, to release the Union prison- ers at Libby prison and Belle Isle. A memoir of him, written by his father, was revised and pub- lished by his stepmother (Philadelphia, 1872). — Admiral Dahlgren's second wife, Madeleine Yiiiton, b. in Gallipolis, Ohio, about 1835, is a daughter of Samuel F, Vinton, for over twenty years a leader of the whig party. At an early age she married Daniel Convers Goddard, of Zanesville, who died, leaving two children. She married Admiral Dahlgren on 2 Aug., 1865, and has three children of this marriage. As early as 1859 she published sketches and poems under the pen-name of " Corinne." In 1870-'3 she actively opposed the move- ment for female suffrage, and drew up a petition to congress, which was extensively signed, asking that the right to vote should not be extended to women. The literary society of Washington, of which she was one of the founders, held its meet- ings in her house for six years, and she was elected its Aace-president. She was for some time presi- dent of " The Ladies' Catholic Missionary Society of Washington," and has built the chapel of " St. Joseph's of the Sacred Heart of Jesus," in South Mountain, Md. Mrs. Dahlgren's works include " Idealities " (Philadelphia, 1859) ; " Thoughts on Female Suffrage " (Washington, 1871) ; " South Sea Sketches " (Boston, 1881) ; " Etiquette of Social Life in Wasliington " (Philadelpliia,. 1881) ; " South Mountain Magic" (1882); "A Washington Win-