HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



523 



family that sent many of its members into 

 the Revolutionary service. One, John 

 Brown, and Amariah Dana, were with 

 Ethan Allen in taking Ticonderoga. 



Robert S. Dana was a little over three 

 years old when his parents left Ohio. He 

 obtained his intellectual training under the 

 direction of his father until about fitted 

 to enter the Yale .sophomore class, but at 

 that time he was induced to abandon the 

 course at Yale and take up the study of 

 medicine in Philadelphia, with Dr. George 

 Chamberlain, at his request, December, 1852. 

 This offer afforded excellent opportunities 

 in connection with his preceptor's drug 

 business and practice, as well as attend- 

 ance at clinics in the Pennsylvania Hos- 

 pital and the Philadelphia Almshouse. 

 He matriculated at the Jefferson Medi- 

 cal College and took his degree of M. 

 D. there from March 7, 1857. In October 

 following he commenced practice at Nan- 

 ticoke, in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, 

 being the only settled physician there 

 at that time. The practice was not very 

 lucrative, but very extensive, reaching to 

 nine or ten miles in every direction from 

 Nanticoke. After a little over a year's 

 practice, another physician settled there, and 

 he, having come into possession of a drug 

 store on the public square in "VVi.kes-Barre, 

 moved his office there, siill retaining many 

 of his old patrons living between there and 

 Nanticoke. After about a year (the drug 

 store not paying) the building was rented 

 to a milliner, and the office transferred to 

 his father's house on Academy street. The 

 German Yeager rifle company's band hav- 

 ing lost a member (the B flat cornetist) 

 he was prevailed upon to take the vacant 

 horn, and became a member of the band, 

 meeting once a week to practice in the 

 evening. He also was a member and treas- 

 urer of the Wilkes-Barre Musical Associa- 

 tion, which gave a series of concerts every 

 winter, which were conducted by Lowell 

 Mason, William B. Bradbury and other 

 celebrated composers of that time. 



The civil "war coming to a certainty in 

 1861, Dr. Dana, at the instance of several 

 companies raised in that neighborhood, 

 went to Harrisburg and applied for a posi- 

 tion as surgeon. Governor Curtin gave 

 him to understand that he had left all of 

 these matters to the Colonels of the Regi- 

 ments, as he had more than he could at- 

 tend to without surgical appointments, his 

 private clerk, having a short time before 

 (despairing of obtaining permission) 

 jumped out of the window and gone off 

 with a regiment starting for the front. 

 Dr. Dana therefore applied to the officer 

 in the regiment who was supposed likely 

 tp be the colonel when fully organized. 

 This officer gave every assurance of the 

 appointment being made, and requested 

 that he should look after a number of the 

 sick in the regiment. This was done for 

 some days, when the regiment was ordered 

 to move, the colonel elected, a personal 

 friend appeared 'as surgeon, another as 



assistant. The regiment moved for the seat 

 of war, and Dr. Dana returned home, hav- 

 ing assured the band that he would go 

 with them if he did not get a position 

 first. He bided his time for something 

 to happen. The war was not over in three 

 months, regiments for enlistments of 

 three years were wanted. The band 

 was called to enter the service with the 

 Lochiel cavalry .^regiment, and recruited 

 their numbers to twenty-four^ under 

 their leader (Louie Practorious) of Wilkes- 

 Barre. The transportation, and order 

 to report having arrived October i, the 

 band proceeded by rail to Harrisburg, and 

 found their regiment, the Ninth Pennsyl- 

 vania Cavalry (Lochiel Cavalry, Senator 

 Cameron's regiment) at Camp Cameron. 

 They were mustered into the United States 

 service October 6, 1861. About November 

 I, 1861, the regiment left Harrisburg by 

 rail with their horses, saddles and etc., 

 but no arms. At Pittsburg they were put 

 into seven steamers ^or transportation to 

 Louisville, Kentucky. The headquarters 

 Boat was the side wheeler "Westmore- 

 land," the others were stern wheelers, the 

 "Arago," "Clara Poe," "Haileman," "Daco- 

 tah," "Idema" and "Anglo-Saxon." The 

 Ohio river was somewhat short of water, 

 and the boats had frequently to swell each 

 other off of the bars by backing down, sud- 

 denly reversing the paddles and throwing 

 a swell against the boat in trouble. The 

 "Arago" broke some paddles on a gravel 

 bar, but extra floats were always carried 

 along, and a couple or hours repaired 

 damages. At various towns along the 

 route they fired salutes from cannon ar- 

 ranged on the bluffs. At Wheeling the 

 bridge was filled with people and the shores 

 as well. Salutes were fired, and to answer 

 there was on the "Westmoreland" a cannon 

 arranged on a common two wheel truck, 

 lashed fast with strong cables ; the handles 

 of the truck, to make the cannon level, 

 were placed upon the combing of the open 

 forward hatch. The first discharge, with its 

 recoil, sent the cannon and all down through 

 the hatch into the hold. It was soon hauled 

 out and better secured. In time the regi- 

 ment arrived at Louisville, and the enemy 

 being in force only a few miles away, it 

 was put into camp at Jeffersonville, on the 

 Indiana side, on Senator Jesse Bright's 

 farm. About New Years, the Ninth Penn- 

 sylvania Cavalry left camp, and advanced 

 with the rest of the western forces to Bards- 

 town, thence to Mumfordsville, on the Green 

 river. General Thomas having defeated 

 Zollicoffer at Spring Mill, near the Cum- 

 berland Gap, all of the center forces were 

 gathered at Mumfordsville for a general 

 advance. General Grant with Commodore 

 Foote's flotilla, was on the river west. 

 When the army moved southward, the 

 Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry was assigned 

 to the duty of protecting the lines in the 

 rear from guerillas and General John Mor- 

 gan's raids, which they pretty effectually 

 did, driving him out of Kentucky several 



