Question: Reading a letter written by my ancestor in the New Hampshire Civil War Artillery I find a passage I am unclear about. "Today Thomas was sadly killed by a dallgrin". Do you have any idea what he was referring too?
Answer: The answer is probably a "Dahlgren Cannon". Perhaps he was near one that exploded, or was killed by the results of being shot by one. This smooth bore cannon was created in 1856, and was popular during the Civil War. To find out more about this type of cannon with images go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlgren_gun