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Dahlgren honors namesake

Dahlgren base celebrates 200th birthday of its namesake, Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren

Date published: 11/14/2009

By RUSTY DENNEN

It was the biggest birthday bash ever at the Dahlgren Navy base, though the honoree, Rear Adm. John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren, was present only in spirit.

The base's namesake died in 1870, so about 20 of his descendants gathered yesterday for the invitation-only event featuring Navy brass, speakers and awards named after the admiral, and to show off the refurbished first gun fired at the base in 1918.

"We felt it was an appropriate and fitting honor that the name of someone who revolutionized naval gunnery and warfare should be honored," said Peter Kolakowski, operations department head of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. NSWC is the largest tenant command of the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren.

A welcoming letter to invitees from Capt. Catherine Hanft, commander of the Navy Support Activity South Potomac, and Capt. Sheila Patterson, commander NSWC, says Dahlgren's legacy is an organization "founded on the idea that systematic research and development could produce safer and more powerful weapons."

Dahlgren's influence on the base is evident to visitors entering the main gate. On display are two of his 12-pounder boat howitzers, designed in 1864. There's also a bronze bust.

NAVY INNOVATOR

Born in 1809, Dahlgren joined the Navy in 1826. He studied mathematics, scientific theory and the use of precision instruments at the Washington Navy Yard, according to "A Quest for Glory," a biography by Robert J. Schneller Jr.

Dahlgren excelled in a project to develop rockets for Navy ships, and in the 1850s created the Ordnance Establishment, the Navy's first weapons research and development program.

Dahlgren set up a firing range along the Anacostia River dubbed the Experimental Battery, according to Schneller, who was among those attending yesterday's ceremony.

The efforts "yielded integrated systems of shipboard armament, featuring light bronze boat guns, heavy smoothbore shell guns, and later, heavy rifled cannon," Schneller wrote.

A cast-iron, muzzle-loading cannon resembling a soda bottle was one of Dahlgren's most important designs and bore his name.

Retired Rear Adm. Jay A. DeLoach was the keynote speaker. He said Dahlgren "gave the American sailor something he'd never had before--an unshakable faith in their guns."

Ulric Dahlgren IV, Dahlgren's great-great-grandson, was among descendants present for the ceremony and a tour of the base.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division usually hands out its top honor, the Dahlgren Award, in late winter. But this year's three recipients were named yesterday during the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren's gathering to honor the base's namesake, the late Rear Adm. John Adolphus Dahlgren. Stuart A. Koch, acting technical director, was cited for "extraordinary leadership" in the Navy, and at NSWC, during a time of change and organizational challenges. Dan Mathis, deputy division head of mission assurance, was "instrumental in developing methodology for the Defense Department's Defense Critical Infrastructure Program." Michael A. Till, head of the gun systems and light weapons division, was cited for "extraordinary technical and line management leadership." Born on Nov. 13, 1809, in Philadelphia, John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren went on to become a military adviser to President Abraham Lincoln and an ordnance expert who revolutionized naval warfare. To find out more about the officer for whom the local Navy base is named, look inside for our weekend magazine, Town & County.

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Date published: 11/14/2009