During the Civil War, Benton Barracks was an encampment for Union troops and was located in north St. Louis County, 4-5 miles from the City of St. Louis.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren was made Commander of the Washington Navy Yard in 1862 and chief of the Bureau of Ordnance in 1863; in July 1863 he was given command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron where the massive Dahlgren guns he designed were…
