As early as 1859, Dahlgren contributed to the press prose articles under the signature Corinne, and later, some fugitive poems. She also wrote under the pen-name Cornelia. In 1859, her volume, Idealities, appeared. She made several translations from the French, Spanish and Italian languages, which brought her recognition, among others, an autograph letter from Pope Pius IX, the thanks from the Queen of Spain and a complimentary notice from President James A. Garfield. Her works include the Biography of Admiral Dahlgren and a number of novels, among which are South Mountain Magic A Washington Winter, The Lost Name, Lights and Shadows of a Life, and South Sea Sketches, and a volume on Etiquette of Social Life in Washington. Social questions and the topics of the day especially occupied her attention. Her poems found a place in the anthologies of poets. She was one of the founders and vice-president of the Literary Society of Washington, also one-time president of the Ladies Catholic Missionary Society of Washington.