Cherokee scout. [volume] (Murphy, N.C.) 188?-1961, 1890-10-21
STRANGE PENSION CASES.
PATHETIC INCIDENTS RELATED By
SEEKERS FOR NATIONAL AID.

PATHETIC INCIDENTS HELATED By
SEEKERS FOR NATIONAL AID.
A Cavalryman Whose Fate Was Like
Enoch Ar1en's-S0ldiers Wrong
fully Branded ais Deserters.
AZ Pension Office clerk recently gave
TO a correspondent Of the Milwaukee San
some incidents out Of many which came
to his notice In that department. He
said;
ga Michigan cavalry man has recently
secured d pension after d great deal Of
trouble: He was reported DIS having been
killed in action; but turned up d few
years ago at reunion of his regiment,
like ghost among his comrades; who
had never heard word about him since
the memorable battle when he was shot.
He rode in tho front ranks during the
cavalry charge in the second battle of
Bull Run, was shot from his horse at the
beginning of the charge, and the whole
regiment passed over him. There was no
doubt about his death and no surprise
that his body was not found after the
battle was over, because it was presumed
that it could not be identified if found.
There was no doubt in the minds of his
comrades that he had been trampled to
pieces. Well, he turned up among his
comrsdes at the reunion It the regiment,
and BID the story that 8 knew nothing
until two or three months after the
battle, when he found himself out in
Michigan, being cared for by some stran-
gers who had taken him in. He was a
complete physical wreck who had been
twisted and torn out of all shape, as if he
had been blown up by boiler explosion
and patched up afterward. He wandered
about for several years, and finally visit
ing his former home found that his wife,
believing him dead, had married again.
He didn't trouble her at all, but contin-
ued travelling about until he finally
gained the friendship of we'll to do
man, and with him he made his home,
finally marrying one of his daughters.
After his appearance at the reunion of
his regiment he brought his case before
the department, had his military record
corrected, and ultimately secured pen
sion.
''One of the strangest incidents, how
ever" continued the official, ''was the
claim of the widow and mother of col
ored soldier for pension. The widow
swore that her husband died in Tennes-
see in 1852 of smallpox, and that his
mother was not living at the time of his
death. The mother claimed that the
man died in 1864 of smallpox in Ten
nessee, and that she had repeatedly seen
him between '62 and "a, but that her
son had never married. Both of the
women were evidently swearing to the
truth, so far as they understood it. The
military record in the Adjutant- Generals
office showed that the man in question en-
listed in that regiment and company, and
died in Tennessee of smallpox in 1854.
There was great deal of strong collat-
eral evidence to show that he had died
in 1852 of smallpox. It was finally as.
certained that the man did die in 1862
rs claimed by his widow. In those time:
vacancies III colored regiments were
speedily filed by Sergeants, who expe'
rienced little difficulty in filing the
ranks with ignorA mt colored men who
would take the 16me the deceased, nc
MATTE what It, W! In this c. the
soldier who was originally enlisted died
in 1862; new man was put in his plac.
under the same name, and he died of thr
smallpox two years later. There wer
really two colored soldiers, one of whom
was mustered in and died in 1862, Will
tho other was not mustered in, bu
served two years and died in 1854. On
der tho circumstances, of course, tn
widow of the man who died in 1862 go
a pension. The mother of the man wa
died in 1864 got no pension, because he
son was never really mustered into tn
service.
ssThere have been thousands of case
where men were not deserters, who neve
did desert, nor never left the army. Thou
sands of fellows fell by the roadside
were taken into field hospitals, sen
North, recovered, returned to thei
regiments and served through the re
mainder of the war, who are reported a
deserters. The Sergeant of the com
pany failing to account for man VIII
struggled from the ranks found it easie
to put 'deserter' opposite his name thai
to look for him. At the end of tn
month his name would be taken fror
the rolls, new Sergeant might be ii
charge of the company when he re
turned, and then the mark of desertiol
would never be corrected until year
after the war, when he would apply 70
a pension and find this record staring
him in the face, greatly to his discredi
and discontinue.
tsThere was young man in to see m
this morning-he is yet comparatively
Young man-who was taken sick il
front of Vicksburg, in 1868, while o.
the march from Champion Hills. II
was in hospitals for several months an
was in lunatic asylum for over thre
wears. When he recovered his reaso
the war had closed, and he gave no al
tention to his military record until fe'
weeks ago, when he made application fo
a pension and found himself marked as
deserter. The poor fellow had fallen
line of duty, just as truly and heroicall
as though he had been in line of bait
stricken down with a bullet. He Is no
engaged in procuring evidence to prov
the truth of his story, the result
which will be that his military recor
will be corrected and he will get tt
pension which is due him. "