| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 52D
CONGRESS, 1ST Session JOHN VAN FOSSEN February 6, 1892 – Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed. Mr Patton, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following REPORT (To accompany H. R. 1662) The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1662) removing the charge of desertion against John Van Fossen, having considered the same, respectfully report: John Van Fossen (aged 18 years) was enrolled January 21, 1862, at Waterloo, Mo.; was mustered in February 1, 1862, at Alexandria, Mo., to "serve during the war in Missouri," in Capt. Turk's Company B, Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry. The military record shows that "there are no muster rolls of said company on file covering the period from the date of enrollment of this soldier to April 30, 1862," and "that on the muster roll of the company for May and June, 1862, he is reported as "absent with leave." But his name does not appear on any subsequent records of Company B, nor can any record of his discharge be found. The record, a copy of which is attached to this report, further certifies that on July 28, 1863, John Van Fossen was enrolled and on November 30, 1863, mustered in to serve three years in Company M, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, and served in that organization until February 3, 1866, when when he was mustered out of service, having served two years and six months. It appears from evidence presented to the War Department that in the winter of 1862 said Van Fossen was taken with the measles, took cold, was rendered unfit for service, was examined and given a certificate of disability for discharge, and went home without waiting for his discharge, thinking the certificate was all that was needed, that he never thought of such a thing as deserting, and as soon as his health became better he enlisted and served faithfully. In view of all the facts the committee recommend that the bill do pass. A report in this case was furnished the Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives, on House bill No. 3554, Fifty-first Congress, first session, February 6, 1890. Following is a copy: "John Van Fosan (aged 18 years) was enrolled January 21, 1862, at Waterloo, Mo., and was mustered in February 1, 1862, at Alexandria, Mo., to serve 'during the war in Missouri,' in Capt. Turk's Company B, Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry. "There were no muster rolls of said company on file covering the period from the date of enrollment of this soldier to April 30, 1862. H. REP. 1-35 "On the muster roll of the company for May and June, 1862, he is reported 'absent with leave,' but his name does not appear on any subsequent rolls or records of Company B, Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry, on file in this office, and an exhaustive search has failed to discover any record of his discharge. "On July 28, 1863, John Van Fossen was enrolled, and on November 30, 1863, mustered in to serve three years in Company M, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, and served in that organization until February 3, 1866, when he was mustered out of service. "The following is a synopsis of the testimony heretofore presented to this office with a view to the removal of the charge of desertion (implied by an absence of record of him after June 30, 1862) against this soldier, and for an honorable discharge as of Company B, Second Missouri State Militia, to wit: "On February 9, 1882, John Van Fossen testified that he is the identical John Van Fossen, who enlisted in said company and regiment in the winter of 1862; that he was attacked with measles and took cold, causing disease of the lungs and general debility; that he was unfit for service and received a certificate of disability for discharge; that there was some delay in procuring the discharge, and as he was sick and anxious to get home, he left without waiting for it; that after remaining at home some months he became 'somewhat better,' and about the last of July, 1863, enlisted in Company M, Ninth Iowa Cavalry. "On June, 1883, Van Fossen forwarded a blank form of 'certificated of disability for discharge,' on which appears the following certificate, to wit: "'I certify that I have carefully examined the said John Van Fossen, of Capt. D K Turk's company, and find him incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because of constitutional debility caused by an attack of rubeola since his enlistment, which renders him unable to endure the fatigues of a soldier's life. "'C T KIMMEL, "'Assistant Surgeon (2d M. S. M. C.)' "This certificate is without
date and comprises all that is borne on the blank form. "On June 11, 1885, Van Fossen stated that in 1862 he contracted lung disease as a sequela of measles, and at the time (September 1, 1862) the Second and Eleventh Regiments Missouri State Militia Cavalry were consolidated he was examined by Surg. Lyon, of the regiment, pronounced unfit for duty, and given a certificate of disability for discharge, and he would have been discharged if he had stayed a day or two longer; that, as he was very sick, was young, and ignorant of military usages, thinking the certificate of disability was all that he needed, he went home, he thinks, in October or November, 1862, and remained there until his enlistment in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry in July, 1863; that 'it was not my intention to desert from the Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry; I never thought of such a thing, and I am sorry that I did not stay and get my discharge.' "The several applications for removal of the charge of desertion against this soldier have been denied by this office on the ground that, as he enlisted in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry without having received a discharge from the Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry, he became a deserter from the latter organization by operation of law (twenty-second, not fiftieth, article of war) and the Department was, consequently, not empowered to remove the charge. "Upon the official record and this man's own admission that he left the Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry Volunteers without proper authority, it becomes apparent that he was absent in a state of desertion a period exceeding four months before he enlisted in the Ninth Iowa Cavalry Volunteers, and for that reason the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 2, 1889 (section 3), afford no relief in the case. "A report in this case was also furnished the Hon. M H Ford, of the House Committee on Military Affairs, on March 15, 1888, in connection with a House bill (number not stated), Fiftieth Congress, first session, introduced for the relief of this soldier, inviting attention to the report furnished on April 10, 1886." The report quoted above embraces the matter of a prior report to the House Committee on Military Affairs, dated April 12, 1886, on House bill No. 4993, Forth-ninth Congress, first session. The status of the case has undergone no change since the date of the last report furnished the committee, either by the introduction of new testimony or by legislation. Respectfully submitted. F. L. AINSWORTH, Major and Surgeon, U. S. Army The Secretary of War |