Dahlgren, Charles Gustavus, 1811-1888

Charles Gustavus Dahlgren was a general in the Mississippi Militia during the Civil War. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 13, 1811, Dahlgren was the son of the Swedish Consul in Philadelphia. After briefly serving in the U.S. Navy, Dahlgren moved south, first to Louisiana and then Mississippi. He settled in Natchez, undertaking various businesses and working at the Bank of the United States in Natchez.

Dahlgren married Mary Malvina Routh in 1840. She died in 1858, and Dahlgren married Mary Edgar Vannoy in 1859. Dahlgren had at least nine children among his two wives.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dahlgren used his own money to raise two military units: the 3rd and the 7th Mississippi Infantry Regiments. He commanded a brigade with the two regiments within the Mississippi Militia. When southern officials transferred the brigade to the Confederate Army, Dahlgren vehemently protested. His complaints not only caused him to be relieved of command but led to a personal feud with Confederate President Jefferson Davis that lasted several years.

While Dahlgren supported the Confederacy, other members of his family became notable Union service members. His older brother, John A. Dahlgren, had made a career out of the naval service, designing a cast-iron cannon (named the “Dahlgren” after him) that became a standard artillery piece for the U.S. Navy, and holding the rank of rear admiral in the Union navy during the Civil War. John’s son Ulric Dahlgren was a Union cavalry officer who led a bold raid into the Confederate to capture or kill Confederate leaders.

Charles Dahlgren suffered significant financial loss due to the Civil War. He practiced law and moved periodically over the next twenty years, first to New Orleans, then Virginia, and then New York. He died in Brooklyn, New York, on December 18, 1888. His family buried his remains the City Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi. (Wikipedia; FindaGrave)