Series 12. Francis Gregory Dallas (1837-1915; bulk, 1837-1859)
Scope and Content
The collection consists of incoming and copies of outgoing correspondence in English and German, two private journals, and photoreproductions of materials used by the Naval History Society in the publication of "The Papers of Francis Gregory Dallas, U.S. Navy. Correspondence and Journal, 1837-1859," edited by Gardner W. Allen, 1917, and published as the eighth volume of the Society's publications.
Biographical Note
Francis Gregory Dallas (1824-1890) served aboard Columbia in the Mediterranean and coastal Brazil, and aboard various ships in the Gulf of Mexico during the Mexican War (1846-1848). In 1848 he attended the Naval School at Annapolis, but was dismissed from the Navy in 1848 for having engaged in a duel. In 1849 he began three years of service in the Navy of the German Confederation, including as first officer of the imperial steam corvette Royal Ernst. He returned to the United States in 1852 and from 1854 to 1857 was aboard Decatur in the Pacific Squadron, along the west coast of the United States for the protection of white settlers and then in Panama. Aboard Dale, along the African coast, he seized barque Orion on suspicion of being engaged in the slave trade, returning with it to New York in 1859. He was subsequently mentally disabled and was retired from active duty.