Charles G. Dahlgren

Charles Gustavus Ulrich Dahlgren (August 13, 1811 – December 18, 1888) was a brigadier general of Mississippi State Troops (or Mississippi Militia) with allegiance to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He commanded the 3rd Brigade of the Mississippi Militia, before a dispute with the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, over transfer of the state troops to the Confederate States Army cost him his career.[1][2]

Charles G. Dahlgren
A portrait of Charles G. Dahlgren by Washington Bogart Cooper
Born(1811-08-13)August 13, 1811
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 18, 1888(1888-12-18) (aged 77)
Brooklyn, New York
Place of burial
City Cemetery, Natchez, Mississippi
Allegiance United States of America
Confederate States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Mississippi State Troops/Mississippi Militia
Rank Brigadier General (Mississippi State Troops/Mississippi Militia)
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early life and career

Dahlgren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Bernhard Ulrik Dahlgren (1784-1824) and Martha (Rowan) Dahlgren (1789-1838). His father was a merchant and Swedish Consul stationed in Philadelphia. He briefly served in the United States Navy.[2] His older brother was John A. Dahlgren, an admiral in the Union Navy.[2] He moved to Louisiana, then to Mississippi, as a young man.[2] He was an official of the Bank of the United States at Natchez, Mississippi, and engaged in several other business ventures.[3]

Civil War service

Following Mississippi's passage of the ordinance of secession and the subsequent outbreak of the Civil War, Dahlgren raised two regiments of state-sponsored volunteer infantry (the 3rd and 7th Mississippi Infantry Regiments) by his own means. When his brigade (Brigade 3) was transferred from state service to the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, he lost his command. Dahlgren was known for a short temper and strong opinions, and strongly opposed this transfer. His outspoken opposition to the nationalization of his men cost him his command and sparked a feud with the family of Jefferson Davis that spanned from 1862 to 1906.

Charles Dahlgren came from a family that played a prominent role in the effort to defeat the Confederacy. His older brother, John A. Dahlgren, was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy and enjoyed a measure of fame for inventing the Dahlgren gun. In 1864, John's son, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, died leading a failed Union cavalry raid with orders to assassinate Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Cabinet. Charles's other brother, William, spent part of the war in England spying on Confederate purchasing agents. In ironic contrast, Charles's compelling story evolves within the hierarchy of Southern aristocracy.[4]

Later life

After the Civil War, Dahlgren had lost his plantation and fortune and moved to New Orleans to practice law.[1] Thereafter, he moved with his family to Nashville, Tennessee for several months in 1870, then to Winchester, Virginia, and finally to New York City in 1876 where he worked as a lawyer and public accountant.[1] He died at Brooklyn, New York on December 18, 1888 and was buried in the City Cemetery, Natchez Mississippi.[1]

See also

Notes
  1. Allardice, Bruce S. More Generals in Gray. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-8071-3148-0. pp. 69-71.
  2. Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1. p. 197.
  3. Marell, Oscar G. Sweden-America (Swedish Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, 1918. Page 19-22)
  4. Gower, Herschel, Charles Dahlgren of Natchez: The Civil War and Dynastic Decline, Brassey's, Inc., 2002, ISBN 1-57488-525-1.

References
  • Allardice, Bruce S. More Generals in Gray. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-8071-3148-0.
  • Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
  • Gower, Herschel, Charles Dahlgren of Natchez: The Civil War and Dynastic Decline, Brassey's, Inc., 2002, ISBN 1-57488-525-1.
  • Marell, Oscar G. Sweden-America (Swedish Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, 1918.
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