The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-09-02
Anent that Veto.

Anent That VetO.
The following letter written TO Comrade
j. w. Burlington, by the late captain of Co.
&c" 111th n. Y. ", sheds some light upon
the merits of the bill for the relief of Comrade
j. ID. Monroe of Lawton. Mr.. Cleveland
will be entirely welcome to all the glory and
renown he has achieved by his vetoes of bills
for pensioning old soldiers and for the dis
graceful ridicule he has heaped upon them
The day is not far distant when the old vet
Grams of the war will do a little vetoing on
their own account, and if they don't get a
chance at GROVER himself, they will effect
ually veto some of his friends and followers
Albany, N. Y.
hope you will pardon this intrusion up
on your attention, but, as you have been a
Union soldier, and az / write on behalf of
soldier who formerly served under my COM
mand, l presume no further apology is
necessary.
During the last session of congress, bill
was passed granting pension to Joel ID.
Monroe, who is now resident of your town.
The bill was vetoed by the president, who
took occasion to go out of his way to make
|
claimant and the honesty and Justice of his
claim. have not seen Mr.. Monroe since he
was mustered out of the service, consequent
ly know nothing about his present con-
dition, nor what his situation has been since
he was discharged. further than what he has
at times written to me; but l do know of
my own personal knowledge what his char
acter was as q soldier. from the day he en-
listed in the 111th N. Y. V. until the regi-
ment was mustered out of the service. He
was in my company all the time and his
good, solderly conduct and general appear
ance so impressed me that in short time, /
promoted him to be corporal and, at the
very first opportunity thereafter, to be a
sergeant, and l never had cause TO regret
such promotions. / always found him TO be
ready for any duty, whatever it might be.
whether under fire. in the trenches, the field
or in camp. and came TO rely upon him to
assist me in the care of the company, being
without leutenants through all the fall and
winter of 1865. His assistance was
material and decided help, and always have
been and am now pleased to freely give him
the praise he deserves as a good, reliable
soldier and non commissioned officer.
Mr.. Monroe, as i understand the matter,
claims pension on account of injuries re-
ceived by an accident and the exposure fol-
lowing it, Ny recollection of the circum-
stances are as follows: On the 9th day of
December, 1864, we were in camp before
Petersburg, Va. Very early in the morning,
which was very cold and raw, two divisions
of the I'd corps and one of the 9th corps
were ordered to Stony Greek, Va. to help the
9th corps out of trouble. After many halts
and delays, we arrived there in the afternoon.
Some few troops were sent across the creek,
but our brigade and most of the troops were
drawn up in line short distance from the
creek. About four o'clock p. m, snow began
to fall and the men began preparations for
supper. Monroe and one or two others were
building fire. others were cutting pine
tree near by and suddenly, without any
warning, the tree fell so that the top struck
Monroe and another man, knocking them
down and bruising and scratching their
heads and faces, but, as they thought they
would soon be all right, no particular atten-
ton was then paid to them. / WAS standing
less than hundred feet from them when
the accident occurred and saw it happen OK
actly as / have stated. The snow continued
to fall very rapidly until after midnight,
when it changed to rain and sleet, freezing
as it fell and, as the men had no other pro-
lection than the blankets they carried. they
became, of course, thoroughly wet through
} and chilled. In the morning when the storm
ceased, the snow was about a foot in depth
and covered with an icy crust, and in that,
we changed position and formed several
times during the day. Just before sunset,
} the 9Th corps having gotten safely out, we
, started back:for our line at Petersburg, nine
miles distant. We were the rear guard and
marched the whole distance through mud
and snow nearly knee Deep arriving, late at
night, to find our cabins dismantled and full
| of snow. The night was intensely cold, and
, nearly all caught colds, catarrhs or some
other disease. Monroe took cold, which
settled in his head where he had been in
jured by the falling tree; other disease con-
, sequent upon the exposure set in and he was
sent to the field hospital for time. When
he recovered, he returned to the company
and served CALAMITY until the close of the
, war.
Such is plain statement of the case and
one that know to be correct in every par
ticular and, so far as my knowledge of him
extends. MIR. Monroe is worthy of the conf
, dence and esteem of every comrade and of
every upright citizen, and deserves the SYM
pathy, encouragement and assistance of all
, good men, You are at liberty to use this
communication in any way that is just and
right. DAVID A. TAYLOR.
/ Late Capt. Co. &c" 111th N. Y. V. INIT.