, while intoxicated, on
detached service, in the month of September, 1862. Not having done any
duty since, a discharge would benefit the Government and himself.
It appears that a claim for pension was filed in the year 1881, in which
the claimant alleged that--
At Fredericktown, Mo., about the 10th or 12th of April, 1863, he had
three ribs broken by falling from his horse while surrounded by
guerrillas.
It will be seen that while the certificate of discharge mentions a fall
in September, 1862, no allusion is made to any fracture of ribs, while
the claimant alleges such an injury occurred in April, 1863.
In 1885 the surgeon who made the medical certificate attached to the
discharge, in answer to an inquiry made by the Commissioner of Pensions,
says:
I have to state that I remember the case very distinctly. I made the
examination in person, and was thoroughly acquainted with the case. I
read the statement on which the application for discharge was based to
the man, and he consented to have the papers forwarded as they read.
The application for pension is fraudulent and should not be allowed.
I have omitted references made to the habits of the soldier by this
medical officer.
Of course much reliance should be placed upon these statements made by
an officer whose business it was to know the exact facts, and who made
his certificate at a time when such facts were fresh in his mind.
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