Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Leg-- Part 2: Under a Parking Lot?

Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, he was in Hagerstown, Maryland,  in July 1863 when his right foot and lower leg was hit by a bullet.  It became necessary to amputate below the knee.  He survived that, but a year later was killed during a Richmond Raid targeting Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Now, back to that leg.    Ulric Dahlgren's father was Rear Admiral John Dahlgren, who had developed an innovative smoothbore cannon and was admired by President Lincoln.

Leg burials weren't uncommon back in that era, at least among the well-connected.    That summer, the heat in Washington, D.C. was sweltering and Ulric decided not to bury the leg at his home.  So instead it ended up up in the cornerstone of a new foundry building being built.  That building has since been torn down and is a building that serves as a parking lot.

However, there is a plaque at that structure, Building 28, that gives the story of Ulric's leg.  However, a Washington Post story from 1991 reports that the leg may have been removed at some point so perhaps it is not there.

Where Is Ulric's Leg?  --Old Secesh