Alexander J. Dallas, born 15 May 1791 at Philadelphia, entered the Navy as a midshipman 22 November 1805. He served with distinction in the War of 1812, the operations against Algiers in 1815, and in the suppression of piracy in the West Indies. He established and commanded the Pensacola Navy Yard from 1832 to 1843.
   On 16 July 1835 he was ordered to additional duty in command of the West India Squadron and supported General Scott during the war with the Seminole Indians in Florida, rendering such efficient service that the Government gratefully named a fort for him on the eastern coast of Florida.
   Commanding the Pacific Squadron, Captain Dallas died at Callao, Peru, 3 June 1844 in the sloop Vandalia.