The Dahlgren gun was a type of smoothbore cannon used by the US Navy prior to and during the Civil War. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...
Only the most primitive of cannon were cast in a single piece. Those made during the nineteenth century were made from many pieces of metal of various shapes and strengths to hold in a greater blast while being of the lightest possible weight.
John A. Dahlgren, head of the US Navy's gun development department, noticed that the greatest force of the blast was in the breech at firing, whereas when the projectile is near the end of the muzzle, it is much less. So he invented a cannon that was very thick at the breech, thin at the muzzle, and had a smoothed transition. This would be cheaper than a more advanced type. It was nicknamed the "bottle cannon" because it looked like a beer bottle, and was also nicknamed after him. Rear Admiral John Adolph Dahlgren, USN, (1809-1870), son of the Swedish Consul in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, made his career in the United States Navy. ... Breech may refer to: A breech birth The part of a firearm behind the barrel. ... A muzzle can be: The mouth of a firearm, see firearm muzzle The projecting nose of an animal, see animal muzzle An arrangement of straps used to bind an animal muzzle shut, or otherwise prevent it from biting. ...
His design did not catch on with other navies, however. Improvements in charge and materials rendered his design obsolete before the twentieth century.
Dahlgren himself took charge of the Washington Navy Yard in 1861, and in 1863 took command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
Admiral Dahlgren's son, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, was killed during the Civil War in a cavalry raid on Richmond, Virginia, while carrying out an alleged assassination plot against Jefferson Davis.
In 1865, Dahlgren married Madeleine Vinton, daughter of Congressman Samuel Finley Vinton and Romaine Madeleine Bureau, and the widow of Daniel Convers Goddard, first Assistant Secretary of the newly-created U.S. Department of the Interior.
Dahlgren was established in 1918 as the Naval Proving Ground, and named Dahlgren in honor of Rear Admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren, who is considered the father of modern naval ordnance.
Dahlgren is located in Virginia's historic Northern Neck, approximately 23 miles east of Fredericksburg, Virginia; 68 miles south of Washington D.C.; and 55 miles north of Richmond,Virginia between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers.
Bounded on the north by the Potomac River and on the South by the Rappahannock River, the county was formed from Richmond County in 1720 and renamed in honor of King George 1.
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