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Captain Tallon of the 41st Regiment,
SWORN
Q. Were you in the action on the 22d January, at the River Raisin?
A. I was.
Q. Did you see the prisoner in the action, and in what situation?
A. I did not see him in the action, but I saw him during the action.
Q. Were you wounded in the action, and did you in consequence go to
the rear?
A. I was, and did go to the rear.
Q. Did you see Lieutenant Bender on your going to the rear?
A. Immediately on my leaving the surgeon, I saw Lieutenant Bender
amidst the wounded men.
Q. What time was this?
A. In the morning the action commenced at Reveille; and it might
be about an hour and a half from the time the action began first
- It was after the
troops
were ordered to charge.
Q. Did the enemy capitulate: if so, was it before, or after the surrender,
that you say Lieutenant Bender among the wounded?
A. The action was going on very brisk at the time I saw him.
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Q. What passed between you and Lieutenant Bender at the time you saw him?
A. I asked him, immediately, whether he was wounded, as I supposed nothing
else would have brought him there. He replied, he was not wounded. I asked
him what
business he had then. He said, Colonel Proctor had sent him to bring up
some men. I told him, that if he looked round, he would not see any one
there
who was not bleeding or disabled. He immediately went away.
Q. How far was it from the troops engaged, that you saw Lieutenant Bender?
A. I cannot tell the distance, it was out of range of the fire, where the
Doctor was dressing the men.
Q. Was there a ravine near the place where the troops were engaged, and
if so, had they retreated to it, at the time you saw Lieutenant Bender?
A. They had retreated into the ravine previous to the time I saw Lieutenant
Bender.
Q. Did you see any stragglers near the place where the wounded were?
A. No - I did not see a man - there were a great many wounded - nearly
one half we brought into the field.
Q. Had the troops retreated to the ravine previous to your leaving them
in consequence of your wound?
A. They had.
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Q. Were the wounded, where the surgeon was, in the rear of the ravine,
or to the right or left of it?
A. In the rear, a great way and out of the field.
Cross Examined.
Q. How long after the commencement of the action was it that you left the
field?
A. I cannot state the time - but it was some time after the men had retreated
to the ravine?
Q. How long after the commencement of the action was it, that the men retreated
to the ravine?
A. From the time the first gun was fired, it might have been about an hour,
or an hour and a half.
Q. At the time Lieutenant Bender mentioned to you that he had orders to
collect the men in the rear, did he not tell you that he had also orders
to procure
ammunition?
A. He did not.
Q. When you saw Lieutenant Bender in the rear, were you not in a cariole,
or getting into one, for the purpose of retiring to your quarters?
A. There was a cariole, I believe belonging to Doctor Faulkener, and I
was going over to sit down in it.
Q. Did you see Lieutenant Bender when he first
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went to the rear, and how long did you remain there after he arrived there?
A. I did not see Lieutenant Bender until he was among the wounded men,
and I remained some time there, after, sitting in a cariole - It was less
than
one
half hour. Examined by the Court.
Q. Had the prisoner been in the action on the
22d of January, must you not have seen him?
A. I am sure he was in the action , on the left of the wing I commanded.
He commanded one of the divisions.
Q. Where was the division that Lieutenant Bender had the command of, at
the time you saw him among the wounded?
A. Those who were not wounded were in the ravine when I left the field.
Q. Were there any ammunition waggons as far back as where the wounded men
were?
A. I think not.
Q. Are you aware that Lieutenant Bender had any other duty on that day,
except the command of the division?
A. I know nothing about it. When he came to the rear he told me it was
to collect men; and two days after, he told me he was sent for ammunition.
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Q. Did you notice that Lieutenant Bender was absent from his division,
at any time before he went to the rear and if so, did you observe any thing
remiss in
his conduct?
A. I did not see him at all in the action. |