Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - Dr. Robert Dalton

PROVISIONAL ARMY of the CONFEDERATE STATES
Established: 1861
Disbanded: 1865

PROVISIONAL ARMY of the CONFEDERATE STATES:
 

The Provisional Army of the Confederate States (PACS) was authorized by an act of the Provisional Confederate Congress on 2/23/1861. It was to be an organization of volunteers (and conscripts) for use in land-based operations during time of war. All PACS units were to be exclusively raised and equipped by the seceding southern states and, although a subdivision of the Regular Confederate States Army (CSA), PACS was separate from that organization with its individual members and units under command of the Confederate Commander in Chief (President) and the War Department.

 Upon Confederate President Jefferson Davis's 3/6/1861 call for 100,000 volunteers with twelve month enlistments, PACS was organized into military departments that contained various forces. PACS co-existed with the Regular Confederate States Army throughout The War. 

Individuals commissioned into PACS did not serve with one unit or at one location. As part of the PACS umbrella they could be assigned and re-assigned to different tasks and locales. 

PACS LOSSES:
No Loss Numbers Available.

SOLDIER:
Residence: Aberdeen Monroe County, VA   Age: 55.4 yrs.
Commissioned: 4/27/1861 Rank:  Surgeon
Commissioned Accepted: 5/10/1861
Commission Resigned: 3/30/1864
Highest Rank: Surgeon
Rank At Discharge: Surgeon

PERSONAL/FAMILY HISTORY:

NOTE: The birth - to - death biographical profile of Robert Dalton was created in June, 2022 during the waning days of the Covid-19 medical pandemic. It contains less depth of detail than many other biographies within this website because military service, pension and other veteran-related files housed in Washington, D.C.'s National Archives were not available. At a later time those documents may be obtained and the data contained therein added to the narrative which follows.
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 Robert Hunter Dalton was born 2/21/1806. The location of his birth was in Rockingham County, NC.
 

Parenting Robert were Nicholas Dalton (b. 4/4/1770 Rockingham County, NC - d. 1/7/1838 Rockingham County, NC) and Rachel (nee Hunter b. 11/30/1774 - 8/23/1863 Rockingham County, NC) Dalton. Nicholas' occupation is not documented, but it is surmised that he was a farmer.
 

Nicholas and Rachel produced eleven children. Of the eleven Robert was the seventh born. His older siblings were: Samuel A. Dalton (b. 1794), James H. Dalton* (b. 1796), Mary McFarland Dalton (b. 1798), Charlotte Gallahue Dalton (b. 1799), Ewell Galahue Dalton (1800) and Leander Hunter Dalton (b. 1803). Younger siblings were: Nancy K. Dalton (b. 1808), John Hunter Dalton (b. 1813), Nicholas Hunter Dalton (b. 1817) and Pleasant Hunter Dalton (b. 1821). All were birthed in Rockingham County, NC.
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As an adult, Robert chose not to be a farmer.  In 1828 – another source says 1831 – in North Carolina he received a medical degree. His specialty was the pathology of fever. Details of his schooling or, perhaps, medical apprenticeship are not known.
 

In 1832 Dr. Dalton married. His bride was Jane Martin Henderson (b. 9/3/1811 New Bern Craven County, NC). The wedding took place in Rockingham County, NC on her father's plantation. How, when and where the two had met are unknowns.
 

During their time together Dr. Hunter and Jane produced at least eight children. They were: Hamilton H. Dalton (b.5/19/1835 Rockingham County, NC), Alexander Henderson Dalton (b. 5/19/1835 Mt. Pleasant Rockingham County, NC), Mary Louisa Dalton (b. 10/18/36 Livingston Sumter County, AL), William Robert Inge Dalton (b. 12/6/1841 Livingston Sumter County, AL **, Jane Henderson Dalton (b. 5/9/1843 Aberdeen Monroe County, MS - d. 4/15/1845 Monroe County, MS), Robert Hunter Dalton, (Jr.) (b. 11/5/1845 Aberdeen Monroe County, MS) Henry Clay Dalton (b. 5/7/1847 Aberdeen Monroe County, MS) and Katherine Henderson Dalton (b. 11/11/1849 Aberdeen Monroe County, MS).
 

Looking at the birth locations of the Dalton children, one can see where Robert's medical practice took him. In May, 1835 he and Jane were in Mt. Pleasant Rockingham County, NC. By October of 1836, however, they were in Livingston Sumter County, AL. It appears they remained there until early 1845 when they removed to   Aberdeen Monroe County, MS. The latter location is where the family remained for quite some time. The family remained in Aberdeen for a number of years.
 

Jane Martin Henderson Dalton died on 1/6/1852 in Aberdeen Monroe County, MS. The details of her passing are not known but, tragically, she was only forty years of age. She was/is buried in the Old Aberdeen Cemetery located in Aberdeen, MS.
 

After Jane's death Dr. Dalton remarried. Exactly when and where that second marriage occurred is not known, but the good doctor likely did not remain widowed for long. He had up to seven young children to be cared for................
 

Not much information is available pertaining to Dr. Hunter's second wife.  Her name was Virginia Perkins and she had been born in Alabama. How, when and where the two had met are unknowns. The couple did not produce children.
 

In 4/1861 Dr. Hunter joined the Provisional Army of the Confederate States (PACS) as a surgeon. His initial assignment, throughout 1861 and into 1862 appears to have been as a member of “Field & Staff” with the 11^th Mississippi Infantry.  He was then assigned. Hospital #1 located in Danville, VA. While there it appears he was at least partially responsible for procuring supplies necessary to keep the hospital functioning.  Available records are unclear on the matter of whether or not he remained with the hospital until resigning his commission in 1864.

Exactly where "home" was when Dr. Dalton ended his military involvement is not documented. It is surmised, however, that he returned to Aberdeen, MS.
 

If Dr. Dalton did, in fact, return to Aberdeen, how long he and his family remained there is an unknown. By 1870, however, Robert had moved his family and medical practice to St. Louis St. Louis County, MO.
 

During the decade of the 1870s Virginia died. Details of her passing and her final resting place have not been found in available documents.
 

By 1880 Dr. Dalton, again a widower, was back in Rockingham County, NC.  There, in the community of Leakesville, he was living with married, but either widowed or divorced daughter Mary Louise, her twenty year old son and Robert's brother, Alex.  At the age of seventy four Robert was still a working physician.
 

As of the year 1896 Robert was residing in Tacoma Pierce County, WA. What had drawn him to the Pacific Northwest and the shores of Puget Sound are unknowns. Likely, though, it was his adult children, including his physician son, William, residing there. In Tacoma Robert resided with married daughter Katherine at 314 N. 11^th St.
 

Dr. Robert Hunter Dalton died at his daughter's Tacoma home on 1/21/1900. The cause of his passing was old age. At the time of his death Robert was aged 93.11 years. He was/is buried in Old Tacoma Cemetery in Tacoma.
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* During the ACW James H. Dalton served in the 2^nd Mississippi Infantry.

** William also became a medical doctor. During the ACW he served in the Confederate Navy. He survived The War and, later moved to Washington Terr. He is buried in Old Tacoma Cemetery.

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Buried at Tacoma Cemetery