Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-03-22
An Important Pension Case.
LAW OFFICE OF T. j. DEAvITT,
MONTPELIER. VT, February 20. 1889

MONTPELIER, W., FEBRUARY ~, 1857. J
To the Secretary oftte Interior The appellant,
Mrs. Harriet NJ Owen Of Rutland Vermont, filed
her application in the pension office in August,
1873, under the act OF March 9, 1873, for a pen.
sion, basing her claim upon the service Of her
late husband, Ira Owen, In the company COM
manded by Captain Timothy Hubbard at the in
vasion OF Pittsburgh by the British troops in
September 1874 On the 16'h of December, 1875
Hon John A. Bentley, commissioner OF PENSIONS
rejected her claim "on the ground that there is
no record Of the organization in which individual
service is alleged" From this adverse decision
OF the commissioner OF pensions the claimant took
an appeal to Hon. Carl Schurz, secretary OF the
interior, who rendered the following decision:
This claim based upon the service Of the husband in The
invasion of Pattsburgh in September, 1914 Ithas been
no record evidence Of the in which service is al
lesed i az Sm ,h the Ate Of The sec
Ace an original mnster;ro Of The company Of Captain
and pryates who served therein Upon ceraed copy OF
said roll furnished for the Of the pension office the
dence afforded by this roll accepted sufficient
, IN Se view Of he deparmsn cannot
be held that the evidence Of the service OF the organic on
Upon pcn therefore, @ valid Ss "a the
% en Ts sn p Ear h s sy
was issued TO her in 1885, The fact that such warrant
lion Of the act Of March 1873 be accepted evidence
tina, the service for which was granted was United
yiso referred TO must however be construed in eonnec
ton with the ret section the act which directs that the
secretary OF interior shall place upon pension roll
the names OF those surviving officers and soldiers who
in any engagement IN said war The land warrant
ss Of III The Of Sh po me bounty nn
land for those who served at the inv asion OF Plattsbu
hsy s not Il @ b.
that The husband di not serve for fourteen day. Ey
not arrive at Pattsbargh ant after the battle The app
ss FOR Re nat not Iss Ss
for fourteen days and was not in any engagement
This claim is now rejected on the ground :" that
her husband did not serve for fourteen days and
was not in any engagement. And now again
comes Harriet M. Owen by her attorney T. j.
Deavtt OF Montpelier, Vermont, and appeals TO
the secretary of the interior and says that injus
tice has been done her, and prays that her case
may be again considered by the secretary OF the
interior in the light of new evidence filed since
the former decision OF the secretary Of the inte-
rior, which the commissioner decides is INSULT
cient to grant pension. She admits that her hus-
band not In the service for fourteen days I'M
less he be allowed one day for every twenty
miles he travelled In addition to the time he was
actually away from home; that to the best of her
remembrance he was from home only eleven or
twelve days, and travelled about one hundred and
fifty miles. She insists, however, that her hus-
band was " in The engagement" at Plattsburgh, as
contemplated by the act of March o, 1878.
Captain Hubbard's company volunteered for
no definite length Of time, but for the engagement
with the invading foe in sister state. At Bur
1nRtOn tuey received fdtlOns anu arms ana EN-
barked on boat September IL, 1914, for Patts-
burgh, where they arrived in season to take their
place in the line of battle, and were among the
first to enter Plattsburgh at daybreak September
IL, and pursued the retreating British several
miles towards Canada. Under date OF February
T. 1882, the commissioner of pensions writes:
That in affidavit file in this office the
officers Of Captain Timothy ubbards company states that
did not reach Pattsbursh until the morning OF the 18th OF
September 1874 This testimony Is corrobonted by other
members OF the company and the biographical sketch
recently nled in the claim cannot be accepted 70 controve
OF the facts about which they testify"
Your appellant says she ought not to be deprived
of her pension on account OF anything contained
in the aflidavits referred to by the commissioner
OF pensions, and respectfully requests the secre-
tary of the interior TO carefully examine them, as
she believes that said afiidavits refer to a COM
pany commanded by one of the atlantis and not
TO the company commanded by Captain Timothy
Hubbard. She further says that II the affidavits
were true and related to the company commanded
by Captain Hubbard they ought not to deprive her
OF pension for the reason that none OF the United
States forces reached Pittsburgh earlier than the
morning OF the 18th OF September for II Is
well known that the United States forces va
Gated Plattsburgh at the approach OF the Brit
ish army and retired TO the south OF the Ssranac
river, in the town Of Peru, and the British con-
tinued to hold Plattsburgh until the morning OF
September 18th, and did not entirely cease firing
| toward General Maeomb's army until about mid
night, and at two oclock in the morning the Brit
ish army precipitately retreated, leaving the sick
and wounded To our generosity.
She respectfully refers TO all the testimony filed
| in her claim including the affidavit OF Dr. Nath-
| aniel G. King, surgeon OF the regiment to which
Captain Hubbard's company belonged, and also
refers to an affidavit of the Hon. Henry r. James
| OF Waterbury, Vermont, an ex-member OF con-
| gress, and who was himself soldier in Captain
| Hubbard company, corroborating Surgeon King,
which was filed, November, 1878, in the claim,
| No. 32757 OF Jonathan Dudley, under the act OF
March 8, 1873. Mr.. James saws:
81 am aged eghty-six years and a member Of Cap
tain Timothy iin6baIds company that went from Montpe-
september A. D., lsH by the British. This company was
da asc eh an hearing and hsnns On 70 on the
landed toward evening and placed In line OF battle
landing and during night Of september iiR he
British ooPs retreated served With said company the
/ from personal knowledge"
When the case was submitted to the secretary
OF the interior 10 1878 the only ruling then made
| by the commissioner OF pensions was that the
claim be rejected on the ground that there is no
| record OF the organization in which individual
service is alleged" Issue was Joined on this
ground OF rejection, No testimony had been
| called for by the commissioner Of pensions 10
show the length and kind of service performed by
the soldier and none had been furnished by the
claimant, That part OF the decision OF the sec
rotary that finds that the soldier did not serve
| for fourteen days and was not In any engage
ment,' therefore was prematurey made II was
made before argument and before evidence was
in, and is in the nature of extra judicial judg-
ment The secretary of the interior says:
1.-THE land warrant granted to Mn owen in 1864 VIVA
granted under the 9Th section OF the March s. 1855
which provides bounty for those who served al the
Invasion OF fattsburgh, without regard period Of
their service OF 10 the fact whether ey not
| In actual battle"
The correctness OF this decision OF the secretary
| OF the interior has been questioned by lawyers
| by the press and by members OF the legislature Of
| the state. The people Of Vermont have not vet
| forgot the excitement occasoned by the arrest of
several well known citizens OF this state for I'M
| lawfully procuring land warrants under the ninth
section OF the act Of March 3, 1855 by false ail
| dayts showing applicants 10 have been either in
the service for fourteen days or at the battle OF
| Plattsburgh, when they went only TO burlington,
| Vt, aud were In the service less than a week
| These parties were tried In the United States
| court, convicted and imprisoned for doing what,
under the late decision OF the secretary OF the in-
teIior, would be AN immaterial matter and not a
| crime.
heappelant Insists that the land warrant issued
TO her IN 1896, under the act of March g. 1855 was
| on account Of the butte service Of her husband
To be becalmed on the lake during the engagement
| OF the naval forces was extremely perilOus and
| even more dangerous than to have been In the
J woods south Of the aaranae river, where tho vol