APRIL 22ND, 1861: Captain Franklin Buchanan, Commandant of Washington Navy Yard, submitted his resignation and was relieved by Commander John A. Dahlgren; Buchanan joined the Confederate Navy and was promoted to Admiral, CSN, on 26 August 1862.
Dahlgren spurred the buildup of Union ordnance and operation of ships for the defense of Washington and the Potomac River. Of the ships (primarily chartered commercial steamers) assigned to Dahlgren's command at the Navy Yard, Welles reported: "For several months...the Navy, without aid, succeeded, more effectively than could have been expected, in keeping open for commercial purposes, and restricting, to a great extent, communications between the opposite shores [Potomac]."
--Old B-R'er
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