Ca. 1860. Backmark: "FA" crest. Frontal bust image of Dahlgren in uniform, in the early 1860s prior to his promotion to Rear Admiral. Image crisp & clear, though the card exhibits slight wear & soiling at the extremities. Else VG.

Born in 1809, John A. Dahlgren joined the navy and passed as midshipman in 1832. He progressed upward through the ranks and was promoted to Captain in 1862, and then to Rear Admiral in 1863. He greatly distinguished himself as commander of the Washington Navy Yard and chief of Naval Ordnance during the early part of the war. His most notable accomplishments were the invention of the boat howitzer and the cast iron muzzle-loading Dahlgren cannon. It should be added that admiral Dahlgren was the father of Ulric Dahlgren, the union cavalry commander killed in strange circumstances seeming to implicate him in a plot to capture and assassinate Confederate President Jefferson, a development that greatly distressed his father. Admiral Dahlgren died in 1870.

Solid CDV of one the distinguished Union naval officers of the Civil War.