02988 - Rear Admiral John Dahlgren; Standing by a Dahlgren gun on U.S.S. Pawnee [LC-DIG-cwpb-02988]
Admiral Dahlgren is perhaps best remembered for the gun that bore his name. He is seen here alongside of one of the bottle shaped guns. These guns were so successful that, by the mid 1850s, they were standard armament for Naval vessels.
During the Civil War Lincoln personally selected Dahlgren as Commander of the Washington Navy Yard. At the time, he was too junior, by law, to accept the post. Lincoln, however, persuaded Congress to pass a special act to allow him to accept the position.
One year later in 1862, he was promoted to Captain and the following year to Rear Admiral. He died in 1870, almost exactly one month before Admiral Farragut.
![02988 - Rear Admiral John Dahlgren; Standing by a Dahlgren gun on U.S.S. Pawnee [LC-DIG-cwpb-02988]](/img/s/v-10/p1324056210-3.jpg)