,

CONGRESS,

DOLLY EMPSON.

[To accompany bill H. R. No. 603. ]

FEBRUARY 23, 1855.

Mr. READY, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, made the fo!

lowing REPORT.

The Committee on Invalid Pensions, to whom was referred House bill No. 603, granting a pension to Dolly Empson, together with her petition and accompanying proofs, have had the same under consideration, and

report:

That the petitioner is the widow of Jacob Empson, deceased; that said Jacob Empson served as a private in the company commanded by Captain Hamilton, under General Jackson, from November, 1814, until May, 1815, when he was honorably discharged; that at the time of his discharge he was diseased with chronic diarrhoea, contracted whilst he was in the service and in the line of his duty; of which he died about three months after his return from the service to the State of Tennessee. In 1835, and again in 1836, the petitioner applied for a pension; but the claim was rejected, because the laws then in force did not provide for the widow of the soldier who died, after his return home, of disease contracted in the service. The application was then supported by the testimony of Captain Hamilton, who died in 1837. Upon the rejection of the application, the testimony of Captain Hamilton was returned to the Hon J. B. Forester, then a member of Congress from Tennessee, as appears by the correspondence between him. and the Pension Office, but has not since been seen by the petitioner, nor can it now be found. Since the loss of Captain Hamilton's testimony, the petitioner cannot present the evidence of any officer of the company in support of her claim, and for the want of such testimony her application, under the act of February 3, 1853, was rejected. The facts that Captain Hamilton's deposition was filed in the Pension Office in 1835, and was subsequently delivered to Hon. J. B. Forester, and that in his deposition Captain Hamilton testified "that he was personally knowing to the said Empson's attack of disease at the battleground below New Orleans, which produced his death in a few months after reaching his family," appear in the correspondence between the Pension Office and Hon. Bailie Peyton and Hon. J. B. Forester. The petitioner is also supported by the deposition of William Latimer, a man of credibility, who swears that he saw Jacob Empson upon his

return from the army in 1815, and that he was greatly reduced by disease, of which he died in about three months. The petitioner is now provided for in the poor-house of the county of which her husband enlisted. The committee recommend the passage of the bill, with an

amendment.

2d Session.

No. 114.

ROBT. H. STEVENS.

[To accompany bill H. R. No. 776.]

FEBRUARY 23, 1855.

Mr. HENDRICKS, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, made the

following REPORT.

The Committee on Invalid Pensions, to whom was referred the petition of Robert H. Stevens, beg leave to report:

That the said Stevens prays for a pension in consequence of a total disability incurred in the direct performance of his duties while in the military service of the United States.

The proofs accompanying his petition satisfactorily show, that Stevens served out, and was honorably discharged from, two enlistments; that he served in the Florida war, and in other parts of our southern country; that in 1840 he enlisted for a third time for a period of five years; that in August, 1844, he was attached to the light artille1y, company A, under the command of the gallant Duncan, and was stationed at Fort Hamilton; that while in the act of raising a cannon in obedience to orders, he sustained an incurable injury in his back, which resulted in a curvature of his spine and a displacement of his left shoulder; that he was sent to the hospital, and soon thereafter discharged as disabled; that he is in indigent circumstances; has a wife and one child, and is entirely incapacitated from the performance of manual labor.

The committee, therefore, beg leave to submit the following bill for his relief.

2d Session.

No. 115.

CHARLES H. POINTER.

[To accompany bill H. R. No. 777.]

FEBRUARY 23, 1855.

Mr. HENDRICKS, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions, made the

following REPORT.

The Committee on Invalid Pensions, to whom was referred the petition of Charles H. Pointer, have had the same under consideration, and report:

That in August, 1837, at Jefferson barracks, in Missouri, the petitioner enlisted as a muleteer for the Florida war, and was immediately sent to Tampa bay; and was then, against his wish, transferred to a pioneer company, and continued in said company in Florida, faithfully discharging his duty, until January, 1838, when he was discharged for disability. That in said service, the petitioner underwent great hardships, and incurred extreme exposure, in consequence of which he became sick with cold, which located in his head and produced deafness. The petitioner is now entirely deaf, and the committee are satisfied, from the evidence, that the disability resulted from his exposures and sickness in the Florida war. He was faithful in the service, is poor, and is unable to provide for his family. The committee report a bill for his relief.