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Dahlgren "20-Pounder" Gun Presentation

On July 16, 1968, a rifled brass gun, a “20-pounder” manufactured at the Washington Navy Yard (then called the Naval Gun Factory), in 1865, was presented to the Navy Memorial Museum (now the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The gun presented to the museum was one of five Dahlgren Guns displayed on the lawns of the Coast Guard Base at Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland, and was returned to the Yard 103 years after it was made. The presentation to the museum was made by Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations, accepted the weapon. Naval Officers in attendance were: Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller, Director of Naval History; Rear Admiral R.W. Goehring, Chief of Operations, U.S. Coast Guard; Rear Admiral Elliott Loughlin, Commandant, Naval District Washington, D.C.; Captain Roy C. Smith, Director, Navy Memorial Museum; and Captain William E. Carver, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Station, Washington. D.C. The presentation was to be a visual reminder of the close bond between the two services since the earliest days of the Republic.


NMUSN-27: Presentation of 20-Pounder Dahlgren Gun, Navy Memorial Museum, July 1968. Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard presents the gun in a formal ceremony. Others in attendance. Shown, left to right: Rear Admiral Ernest M. E...

NMUSN-27: Presentation of 20-Pounder Dahlgren Gun, Navy Memorial Museum, July 1968. Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard presents the gun in a formal ceremony. Others in attendance. Shown, left to right: Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller (blocked by exhibit case); Rear Admiral R.W. Goehring; Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations; Rear Admiral Elliott Loughlin; Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (speaking); and Captain Roy C. Smith, Director, Navy Memorial Museum. This artifact is now on display by the frigate, USS Constitution, Fighting Top Area. National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection.


NMUSN-28: Presentation of 20-Pounder Dahlgren Gun, Navy Memorial Museum, July 1968. Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard presents the gun in a formal ceremony. Others in attendance. Shown, left to right: Rear Admiral Ernest M. E...

NMUSN-28: Presentation of 20-Pounder Dahlgren Gun, Navy Memorial Museum, July 1968. Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard presents the gun in a formal ceremony. Others in attendance. Shown, left to right: Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller (blocked by exhibit case); Rear Admiral R.W. Goehring; Admiral Willard J. Smith, Commandant U.S. Coast Guard; Rear Admiral Elliott Loughlin; Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations (speaking); and Captain Roy C. Smith, Director, Navy Memorial Museum. This artifact is now on display by the frigate, USS Constitution, Fighting Top Area. National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection.


NMUSN-52: 20" Dahlgren Gun. National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection.

NMUSN-52:  20" Dahlgren Gun.   National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection.


NMUSN-62: 20" Dahlgren Gun on display in the Navy Memorial Museum (now National Museum of the U.S. Navy), probably 1970s. National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection.

NMUSN-62:  20" Dahlgren Gun on display in the Navy Memorial Museum (now National Museum of the U.S. Navy), probably 1970s.   National Museum of the U.S. Navy Photograph Collection. 

Published: Tue Jul 27 09:28:57 EDT 2021