The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1895-10-31
A Bullet and its story.


ABLE WAR STORY.
They were seated around the radiators
at Swett's hotel, Portland, when rather
stout, middle-aged man drew jack-knife
from his pocket. As he did SO battered
bullet fell upon the floor. s'Thanks,' he
replied, as the writer picked it up and
handed it to him. IL wouldn't care to
lose that memento for any amount Of
money. That bullet las been through
my body" and the gentleman restored
the rifle ball to his pocket After con
| siderable coaxing, the speaker who was
Allen j. Maker, now Of Lynn, Mass, and
who is connected with Frank Leslie's, said:
''Well, If you want to hear the yarn just
read that copy Of the report made to Con
certificate of the report made to the com
mittee Of the whole House at the second
session of the 51st Congress.
When the war broke out had lust com
pleted my second year in the high school
at Biddeford. | was little rising sixteen
years of age, and was working during nv
vacation at the Water Power Company in
Biddeford. Boys but a tri1e older than
myself enlisted, and | became fired with
enthusiasm to 60 myself. My father siren
uously objected and wouldn't listen to it.
He wanted me to complete my education,
but | finally persisted and the upshot of
it was | went to the front and it was Gods
goodness that enabled me to return
81 went out in Company |, 18th Maine
We had seven hot battles before we were
out as many months, but the event that
let daylight into me was when we were
~,
down the line and ordered the Captain of
each company to detail two men for
skirmshers. | happened to be selected
fight | was cornered. My left arm was
broken by a bullet and hung helpless by
my Side. | was weak from loss Of blood
l crawled to the rear and on the way
could see men falling in the ranks like ten
pins. l had shot left in my piece and |
sent THAT into ''Keb'' and then cot be-
hind the tree to load.
! II tried to reach the rear to Get my arm
dressed and had just climbed a fence when
i dropped unconscious with this big bullet
in me. II had crashed into my abdomen.
| lay on the rain soaked ground with no
shirt on. l lay there all night In the
morning the surgeon sent me whiskey and
remarked to q comrade of mine, poor
| boy, its all over with him, he can t last al
hour more | was nearly dead from the
loss Of blood and weak from lack of food
All the following day lay there given
up for dead, but THAT night there was 4
detail to remove the dead and | was re-
moved also, while the records had my
name in the list Of the dead. | showed
feeble SIGNS of life and vas carried to the
rear
This is an abstract of the report of
Workers case submitted to the House of
Representatives. January II. 1890. The
report is illustrated With pictures Of the
wounds.
The committee on invalid pensions. to
whom was referred the bill granting
pension to Allen j. Maker, submit the
following report:
Your committee having examined the
testimony in this case find that Maker is
suffering from a desperate wound received
| in line OF duty as set forth in the records
of surgery of the late war as follows:
Private Allen j. Maker, Go. |, 18th
Maine, aged IS years, was wounded near
Centerville, at the battle of Chantilly,
September l, 1862, and was taken to the
regimental hospital where assistant Sur
geon G. ii. Martin, 4th Maine. recorded
his injury as a ''gunshot wound Of the
conveyed to Washington, and entered
Epiphany hospital % September "a. DR..
N. y. Monroe states, without describing
the wound of the arm that 1.-THE ball
I, passed through the left side between the
ninth and tenth ribs, fracturing the latter,
and lodged between the transverse pro
cesses Of the third and fourth lumbar
veItebre, whence it was extracted, as |
was informed, on the previous day The
M ssile was placed i'll the Museum by Dr.
1 Lrinton. Tie missile is said to have lain
simultaneously and as soon as a counter
incision was made for its extraction fecal
\ matter was discharged BY this wound
From the anterior opening a number of
bone splinters were extracted. On Sep
TENDER 10th, a piece of omentum, ''twelve
inches long and two inches wide, is said
/ to have been removed. He was sustained
by a nourishing diet, with porter and
tonic medicines. Late in October, Hos
pital Steward Staunch prepared, under
Dr. Brinton's supervision, an excellent
water color drawing Of the subject. This
is preserved in the Surgical Series of
| Drawings, A. Nj. NJ, as No. -.
| The patient at his own desire, was dis
charged from service by Surgeon James
Bryan, Z. S. V. In May, 1868, month
afterwards, both wounds healed up sound
ly, and the patient Went to his home at
Belfast, Maine. He was pensioned. On
September Is, 1864, his condition was so
satisfactory that his pension was reduced.
He applied for an increase, and on August
p, 1870, Pension Examiner Charles n.
Germaine of Rockland, Maine, made a re-
port similar to the above.
He is pensioned at S24 per month, and
his application for increase was rejected
by the pension bureau, on the ground that
the evidence did not show that he was in
capacitated from performing manual la
bor.' DR.. S. S. Stearns testifes BY at
fidavit before this committee that in his
opinion Maker ''is unable to perform any
manual labor" and that ''his disability
is equivalent to the loss Of leg and
arm. =
Your committee believe this is meri-
torious case, and recommend the passage
of the bill after the same shall have been
amended by striking ont all after the word
s'to' in the fifth line and insert as follows:
''s4O per month, but this act shall not de-
prive the beneficiary Of the right to apply
for and have granted him an increase Of
pension under the general law relating
thereto"
| This was passed.
Mr.. Maker is in fine health now and few