Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana (April 15, 1822 – July 15, 1905) was a careerU.S. Army officer who fought with distinction during theMexican–American War and served as ageneral in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. He was wounded several times during his military career, often severely, and later in life was involved with railroads and veteran soldier affairs in the U.S.

Napoléon Jackson Tecumseh Dana
Born	(1822-04-15)April 15, 1822 Eastport,Maine
Died	July 15, 1905(1905-07-15) (aged 83) Portsmouth,New Hampshire
Place of burial	Harmony Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/ branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1842–1855, 1861–1865, 1894
Rank	Major General
Commands	3rd Brigade, 2nd Division,II Corps
Battles / wars	Mexican–American War Battle of Monterrey Siege of Veracruz Battle of Cerro Gordo American Civil War Battle of Ball's Bluff Peninsula Campaign Battle of Antietam Battle of Stirling's Plantation Battle of Brownsville
Other work	Agent, miner, railroad superintendent, author
Signature

Dana was born atFort Sullivan, inEastport, Maine. He was a first cousin ofJames J. Dana and later would be the father-in-law ofJohn C. Tidball. His fatherNathaniel G. Dana, also aWest Point graduate and officer serving in the 1st U.S. Artillery, was stationed at Fort Sullivan at the time, but his father died when Dana was eleven years old. Dana's paternal grandfather,Luther Dana, was a naval officer in theAmerican Revolution, and his maternal grandfather,Woodbury Langdon, served as a member of theContinental Congress (with his brotherJohn Langdon), and later aU.S. Senator and governor ofNew Hampshire.

When he was sixteen, Dana entered theU.S. Military Academy in 1838, and graduated from there four years later, standing 29th out of 56. He was commissioned asecond lieutenant in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment on July 1, 1842.^[1]

With the 7th Infantry, Dana was stationed in the garrison at Fort Pike,Louisiana, from 1842 to 1843, then at Pass Christian,Mississippi, in 1843, back at Ft. Pike from 1843 to 1845, and afterwards he was part of the Military Occupation ofTexas in 1845.^[2]

During the Mexican–American War, Dana and the 7th participated in the defense of Fort Brown from May 3–9, 1846 and then fought at theBattle of Monterrey on September 21–23. He was promoted tofirst lieutenant on February 16, 1847, and took part in theSiege of Vera Cruz on March 9–29.^[2]

During theBattle of Cerro Gordo on April 17 and 18, Dana was severely wounded in the hip while storming theentrenchments on Telegraph Hill. A burial detail came across the injured Dana after he had been left on the field for about 36 hours; Dana had been left for dead where he fell.^[2] For his actions at Cerro Gordo, Dana was commissioned abrevetcaptain.^[1]

After recovering from the injury, Dana was on recruiting service from 1847 to 1848, on duty atBoston, Mass. as AssistantQuartermaster in 1848, and then various posts inMinnesota andWashington, D.C. from 1848 to 1855. During this time he superintended the construction ofFort Ripley. He resigned from the army on March 1, 1855, relocating toSt. Paul, Minnesota, to become a banker.^[2] In 1857 Dana began serving in the Minnesota StateMilitia as a brigadier general until 1861.^[1]

Dana chose to follow theUnion cause in the fall of 1861, and entered theUnion Army asColonel of the1st Minnesota Volunteer InfantryRegiment on October 2. He was then givenbrigade command in Brig. Gen.Charles P. Stone'sDivision of theArmy of the Potomac on October 20, an assignment lasting until March 23, 1862.^[1] During this time Dana and his men took part in the Union fiasco at theBattle of Ball's Bluff on October 21.^[3]

On February 6, 1862, Dana was appointedbrigadier general, February 3, 1862, and given command of the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Division in the UnionII Corps,^[1] a brigade consisting of volunteer soldiers fromNew York,Massachusetts, andMichigan. Dana led this brigade throughout thePeninsula Campaign in the spring and summer of 1862, participating in theSiege of Yorktown in early April to early May, theBattle of Seven Pines in late May and early June, theBattle of White Oak Swamp on June 30, theBattle of Glendale also on June 30, and theBattle of Malvern Hill on July 1.^[4]

In early July, shortly after Malvern Hill, Dana became ill and was diagnosed with "remittent fever." He was sent toPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, to recover and he remained there for six weeks. Dana was declared fit for duty near the beginning of theMaryland Campaign and rejoined his command.^[4]

Dana led his brigade notably during theBattle of Antietam nearSharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, where he was severely wounded. At Antietam, Dana and his brigade (part of Brig. Gen.John Sedgwick's 2nd Division of Maj. Gen.Edwin Vose Sumner's II Corps) forded theAntietam Creek at about 7:30 a.m. and marched to the support of the right of the Union line. Sumner ordered Sedgwick's division to form three parallel lines of battle, with Dana's men making up the second line. Sumner led this division due west, desiring to push any remainingConfederate forces through Sharpsburg and toward thePotomac River. They entered what is now called the East Woods, across the Hagerstown Turnpike, and into the area known as the West Woods.^[4]

Marching about fifty yards behind the leading Union brigade, Dana's command began to receiveartillery fire but continued forward. Shortly after entering the West Woods, Dana's brigade was struck hard on their left by Confederate troops, and became in danger of being completely surrounded and cut off. Maneuvering his soldiers in the difficult terrain, Dana led his men to the relative safety of the Miller Farm, despite receiving a serious wound to his left leg. When the pain in his leg became unbearable, Dana turned command of his brigade over to his senior regimental commander, Col.Norman Hall, and was carried to a Union field hospital in nearby Keedysville for treatment. After spending two days at the field hospital, Dana was sent toWashington, D.C. and later again to Philadelphia to recover. At Antietam, Dana's command lost about 900 men killed, wounded, or missing.^[4]

Dana was appointed to the rank ofmajor general on November 29, 1862, to rank from that date, but could not resume duty until the summer of 1863 due to his wound.^[5] Because his appointment was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate when first submitted by President Lincoln, the President resubmitted the nomination on March 6, 1863, and the Senate confirmed it on March 9, 1863.^[5] During theGettysburg Campaign he commanded the Defenses of Philadelphia from June 26 to July 8. He next briefly led the 2nd division of Maj. Gen.Darius N. Couch's Department of the Susquehanna from July 11–15.^[1]

That fall, Dana was given divisional and then corps command in the Department of the Gulf. He led the department's second division from September 26, 1863, to January 3, 1864,^[1] during which he participated in the small action at Fordoche Bayou as well as the expedition from Brazos Santiago toLaredo, Texas, and was overall Union commander during theBattle of Stirling's Plantation.^[4] He commanded the XIII Corps from October 25, 1863, to January 9, 1864, and then led the first division from March 11 to April 3. Dana was then transferred to theWestern Theater, and joined theArmy of the Tennessee that fall. He was given command of the District of Vicksburg from August 19 to November 28, and then briefly led the XVI Corps from October 15 to November 7.^[1]

Dana returned to command inVicksburg, Mississippi, until December 8, 1864, when he was ordered to head the Department of Mississippi, this last of his U.S. Army assignments lasting until May 14, 1865.^[6] He was also in overall command of the area where the steamboatSultana exploded on theMississippi River nearMemphis, Tennessee on April 27. The paddlewheeler had been contracted by the U.S. Government to return home recently released Union prisoners of war, and when it docked in Vicksburg for repairs to leaky boilers it became grossly overcrowded with soldiers wanting to get home. An April 27, 2007, article in theWashington Times explained what Dana had been told about the ship before it departed Vicksburg:^[7]

Capts. Frederick Speed and George A. Williams were responsible for the proper boarding of soldiers. Speed advised Maj. Gen. Napoleon J.T. Dana that the number would not exceed 1,400 men. Speed and Williams both assured Dana that the load was not too large for the boat and that the men appeared comfortable and not overcrowded.^[7]

At 2 a.m. on April 27, 1865, the repaired boilers exploded, which instantly killed most of the passengers and crew and threw others into the Mississippi; the survivors jumped into the chilly river to escape the flames.^[8] As the article states:^[7]

Hot metal from the boilers and hot coals from the furnaces scattered on the decks, setting the ship afire. The explosion caused the smokestacks and decks to collapse. The weak and exhausted ex-prisoners of war jumped overboard, risking their lives in the Mississippi to avoid the raging fire. Drowning men covered the river as nearby boats tried to pick up the survivors. Many of the men floated downstream, in the direction of Memphis, clinging to anything they could find -- logs, parts of the steamer, furniture and any other floating object... All who had not been rescued had succumbed to the water or died trapped in the sunken steamer.^[7]

Dana and other authorities investigated the incident, but no one was ever brought to trial for it.^[7]

Lt. Gen. Grant, in a general order, released Maj. Gen. Dana from command of the Department of Mississippi, with orders to proceed to his residence for further orders. Maj. Gen. Warren succeeded Dana.

Dana resigned from the U.S. Army on May 27, 1865, and became a miner.^[6] In 1866 he was a general agent for the American-Russian Commercial Company ofSan Francisco,California. He worked for them until 1871, traveling in California,Alaska, and Washington, D.C.^[2]

In 1872 Dana began his lengthy connection with railroads. He served as superintendent of several railroads inIllinois, most notably of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad atRock Island in 1878. He was then the commissioner in charge of Railroad Pools atSt. Louis, Missouri from 1878 to 1881, and was president of the Montana and Union Railway Company in 1885.^[2]

Dana next served as chief of the Old War and Navy Division (U.S. Pension Department) in 1893, and was promoted to 1st Deputy Commissioner of Pensions byU.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland in 1895. However, Dana was removed from this office by PresidentWilliam McKinley in 1897.^[9]

Due to a Special Act of theUnited States Congress in 1894, Dana was commissioned a captain the U.S. Army from August 2–11.^[6] He then placed on the retired list, enabling him to receive a pension. Dana lived out his final years inWashington, D.C. While visitingPortsmouth, New Hampshire, in the summer of 1905, he died ofapoplexy and was buried in Portsmouth's Harmony Grove Cemetery.^[4][10]

An account of his experiences in the Mexican War was published inMonterrey is Ours! in 1990.^[6]

• List of American Civil War generals (Union)

• Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh (1990).Ferrell, Robert H. (ed.).Monterrey Is Ours!: The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant Dana, 1845-1847. University Press of Kentucky.ISBN 0813117038.LCCN 89029351.

• "Napoleon J. T. Dana".Find a Grave. RetrievedFebruary 12, 2008.
• www.civilwarhome.com Dana's report of Antietam.
• www.hti.umich.edu Pres. Lincoln's letter to Dana concerning "ownership and control over products transported under Treasury Regulations" on January 6, 1865.
• "Dana, Joseph" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.