Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-11
SOLDIER DID NOT DESERT
Pension Examiner Unravels Queer
Tale After Long Investigation. 4
RE. ENLIsTED IN Jaw REGMENT
Man First Took a Sick FurIOuEh ~
Equivalent to Discharge and
Was Carried on Rolls ~
Deserter.

Special Pension Examiner Foster Is
telling a story Just to show that 1t is
not the province OF special pension ex-
aminers to hunt down men and deprive
them Of their pensions through some tech
meal violation Of the multiplicity OF PEN
sion laws, but rather to demonstrate that
the average pension examiner would sooner
help a worthy soldier get a pension, than
to deprive him Of It." Here 10 his mar
rative:
Dennis Hunt enlisted early during the
civil war In a New York regiment and
served for more than three years. He
was severely wounded at the battle Of
Antietam and was sent home on sick fur
Tough. His furlouRh was Indefinite, but
he recovered from his wound sooner than
he expected, He went back to his regi-
ment and was again wounded at Gettys-
burg and was given another sick furlouRh
after being discharged from the hospital.
After several months he recovered from
his wound and, supposing that his sick
furlough was equivalent to a discharge, he
failed to return to his original command.
He was a little doubtful about the legiti-
macy Of his discharge, and fearing that he
might be classed as a deserter, hesltated
about going back, as about that time the
government was shooting an occasional
deserter. so he determined TO re-enlist
under another name in a Massachusetts
regiment.
"He served with the Massachusetts regi-
ment until the last year OF the war and
was again wounded in front Of Petersburg
and was sent home to die. But he didn't
die. He reported to his Massachusetts,
command Just before the grand review in
Washington and was mustered out with
the regiment.
Several months after the close Of the
war he applied for a pension. It was held
up for various reasons. particularly from
the fact that he claimed three separate
wounds, but not all of them from his last
enlistment.
Hunt positively insisted that he had no
other service except In the Massachusetts
regiment, but was disinellned to explain
the discrepancy OF the two other wounds
which had been perfectly established by
his repeated physical examinations before
the medical examining board. The two old
wounds indicated that they had been re-
ceived two and three years previously. But
Hunt was obdurate and would not give
away his earlier e~nlistments.
Finally a special examiner was sent to
his old home in Brooklyn and after maxi
ing some inquiries among friends and rela-
| uves the examiner discovered that Hunt
had served in a New York regiment for
three or more years before e~nlisting in
the Massachusetts, regiment. and was In
/ some of the hottest battles OF 1862 and 1s63,
but under another name.
Further inquiry showed that he was car
ried on the rolls OF the New York regiment
as a deserter. His record as a soldier was,
however, first class, and he was again in
vestigated by a special examiner, who is
now stationed IN Omaha. and Hunt finally
admitted that he had served In the New
York regiment. He denied any intention
OF deserving, but held that as the gov
eminent was making it pretty hot for men
charged with desertion, he concluded to
change his name and enlist In another
regiment where he would not be known.
"The examiner saw the real merit In the
case n instead Of seeking TO show the
man up as a premeditated deserteT. sent
in the fun story Of the case to the pension
department. Every detail Of Hunts story
was corroborated. and the pension depart
ment Of its own volition removed the
charge Of desertion from Hunts name and
awarded him a pension from the date oil
his first wound at Antietam IN September
is6l He was granted arreArsges from thai
date and only a few weeks ago, here n
Nebraska. he received from the pension
department a check for over 5000 arrear.
ages and a notification hat he had beer
placed permanently on the pension roll"