Military Pension Files for Private John Saunders a.k.a. William Gibson, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Co. D. Special Examination by A.J. Green. Deposition A of William Gibson. p. 17

Transcription 4 of 4:

I guess I had been wounded about an hour or half an hour before those two men tried to take me to the rear. I was excused from duty about three or four months on account of my wounds aforesaid. My shell wound would run every once in awhile after [TBD] service for quite awhile - but all of my wounds

--(cont'd on p. 18)--

Transcription 3 of X:

I was treated by surgeon - he is dead and I have forgotten his name. He dressed my wounds - shaved my head and took [TBD] bones out of shell wound of my head fix my finger nail and shaved my head and bound it up. When I was wounded they had me down as missing. I was crawling around not showing what I was doing. Well, two soldiers found me and was bringing me up to the rear and the officers came up and told them men to let me go and go to the front as they would blow their brains out. They let go me and I dropped and an ambulance picked me up. We "was" fighting the Louisiana Tigers then. I don't recall those two men's names as I was all bloody and full of "skippers" and in such a pickle I could not tell.

[researcher note: 9th Louisiana Infantry a.k.a. Louisiana Tigers]

Transcription 2 of X:

I got g.s.w[ound] of right temple and shell wound of right side of head and g.s.w. of back of neck, and g.s.w. of left hip - all and each one in one day during battle of Bunker Hill, S.C. My Co[mpany], or part of it, was supporting a Battery of Heavy Art[iller]y - don't know what designation except it was a Long Tom and I was on the right and subjected to cross-fire and that is how I got so many wounds. I was not in hospital for my wounds. I just laid around there and down by its gun boat. Well, it was not at Honey Hill but Bunker Hill we went on transport from Savannah, G[eorgi]a.

--(cont'd from p. 16)--

Transcription 1 of X:

(This claimant is unreliable and makes statements and unmakes them without being able to explain. A.J.G.)

I now say I got all of my wounds at Bunker Hill, S[outh] C[arolina], battle. I don't know date, year or month.

In and during that battle I got g[un] s[hot] wound of left hand right here. (1st metacarpal bone of left hand indicated as seat of wound. A.J.G.)

See also Special Examination Index

Public domain military record

National Archives Catalog #300020. "Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861 - 1934."

National Archives retrieval courtesy of American Origins, LLC

Fee provided by J.M.

Photo editing and transcription by K Raymoure