Copying Book: Secretary's Letters, 1860 (page 354)

354

Boston January 12, 1867

Hon E. B. French.

Sir,

In the case of W^m Gallagher
Co K. 59^th Mass. Vols. Died Aug. 13. 1864, allow

Allow me to state why the claim should be
taken from the suspended list, and settled in
behalf of the claimant.

1^st There is no real contradiction in the two
deposition of witnesses Conolly and Delaney when under-
stood -

2^d The claimant and the witnesses are both of
the highest respectability, so far as I can learn -

3^r The necessities of claimant's family urges haste.

Under the first head there cannot have been the slightest
intention to vary from the truth. The term "perjury" is a
cruel word in this case. The claimant and witnesses told
a fair story, with all the appearance of truthfulness. She stated
that her brother John was in the army, and she was ashamed
to say deserted, that he was a "bad behaved boy," that he
went away, and neither she nor her friends had heard from
him for years, or I understood them. That they had seen
an account of a destructive explosion and his name
was among the names of the killed, and they verily believed
that he was the person felt satisfied that he was.
They had no doubt of his death, and as they were