Description:

John A. Dahlgren
USS Philadelphia, February 15, 1864
Admiral John A. Dahlgren Praises Son on Eve of Dahlgren Affair in Letter to Senator's Wife
ALS

JOHN A. DAHLGREN, Autograph Letter Signed, to Mrs. Martha P. Foster, February 15, 1864, USS Philadelphia, [off South Carolina]. 3 pp., 5" x 7.75". Includes a reproduction photograph of Dahlgren next to a Dahlgren rifle aboard the USS Pawnee in June 1865. Expected folds; hole at margin, not affecting text; light toning throughout; darker toning to part of first page.

"my son...is brave as steel and will stand by his flag to the last."

In this letter, Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren responds to a note from Mrs. Martha P. Foster, the wife of a U.S. Senator from Connecticut. Dahlgren writes from aboard the USS Philadelphia, Dahlgren's flagship for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, operating off South Carolina.

Dahlgren thanks Foster for mentioning his son, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren (1842-1864), who had been wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg and had his leg amputated below the knee. Two weeks after his father wrote this letter, Ulric Dahlgren was killed leading a raid on the Confederate capital of Richmond to free Union prisoners from Belle Isle. Confederates published documents they allegedly found on Dahlgren that ordered him to assassinate Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, and burn the city. Southerners were outraged, and northern newspapers responded that the documents were forgeries and reported the mistreatment of Dahlgren's corpse, inflaming public opinion in the North. The controversy became known as the Dahlgren Affair.

Complete Transcript
U.S. Flagship "Philadelph
Febr. 15th 1864
Mrs M. P Foster
My dear Madam
Your acceptable note of the 6th reached me duly, and I assure you I feel much indebted to any circumstance which favored me so agreeably.
The enclosed will show that I have obeyed your commands and hope my fair countrywoman may be as successful as her patriotic purpose so richly merits.
Many thanks for your kind mention of my son,—he is brave as steel and will stand by his flag to the last; poor fellow, he has been sacrificed freely for the cause and will do so to the end
I hope Mr. Foster is well—please do me the favor to convey my best regards to him
And accept for yourself the earnest wishes of
Your Obed: Servant
Jno A Dahlgren / R. Admiral

Historical Background
On February 6, 1864, Martha P. Foster wrote to Admiral Dahlgren from Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C. She wrote on behalf of a "young lady I know, in the country, who has devoted herself from the beginning of the war to the welfare of the soldiers." Although then ill, this woman hoped to gather a portfolio of signatures of "men of distinction at home & abroad" to sell at the upcoming Sanitary Fair in New York City for the benefit of the soldiers. Foster asked Dahlgren if he could send his signature and "a word or two besides, a patriotic sentiment or something of that sort!" Foster promised that it would be "prized as it deserves."

She had met Dahlgren's son, Colonel Ulrich Dahlgren, at a party the previous evening, and it was he who suggested that she write to his father. She reported, "He was looking finely, very handsome, very cheerful & not so wasted as I had expected to see him after so much suffering." She continued, "His brave words of determination to meet the enemy again, as soon as his surgeon consents, went right to our hearts. I congratulate you on such a son. Few men have contributed so great a treasure to this war." Less than one month later, Ulric Dahlgren was killed at the Battle of Walkerton, twenty-five miles northeast of Richmond.

The United States Sanitary Fair organized the Metropolitan Fair in New York City to raise funds and supplies for the Union Army. Initially scheduled to open on March 28, 1864, it was postponed until April 4, and proved to be the largest Sanitary Fair held during the Civil War. Lasting eighteen days until April 23, the Fair raised more than $1.1 million for the Union cause.

John A. Dahlgren (1809-1870) was born in Philadelphia to the Swedish consul in the city and joined the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1826. After working on the coastal survey from 1834, he was promoted to ordnance officer in 1847 and stationed at the Washington Navy Yard. In 1839, he married Mary Clement Bunker (d. 1855), and they had seven children, of whom four survived to adulthood—sons Charles, Ulric, and Paul and a daughter. He founded the U.S. Navy's ordnance department and made major advances in gunnery, earning him the designation of "father of American naval ordnance." During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Dahlgren to captain and made him chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. Promoted to Rear Admiral in February 1863, Dahlgren took command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, where he worked with General Quincy A. Gillmore on the siege of Charleston and with General William T. Sherman on the capture of Savannah in December 1864. After the war, he commanded the South Pacific Squadron from 1867 to 1869, before returning to the Washington Navy Yard. In 1865, he married the widow Madeliene Vinton (1825-1898), with whom he had twin sons and a daughter.

Martha Prince Lyman Foster (1823-1903) was born in Massachusetts. In 1860, she married widower Lafayette Sabine Foster (1806-1880) at Grace Church in Boston. He represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate from 1855 to 1867.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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