Manchester, April 15^th, 1879

Col. I. A. Bentley

Com’t of Pensions,

Dear Sir:

Herewith I forward with enclosures, my application to be placed upon the Invalid Pension Roll of the United States. In the declaration as to the injury, and the time and manner of it, I have endeavoured to be as truthfull and full as the space in the printed form allowed. I append as further evidence the statement of Bt. Col. T. B. Brooks, who fortunately on the 12^th inst. Happened to be passing through Richmond. Also the certification of my family physician who since 1872 has advised me upon the subject.

From commencement of active siege operations against Charleston (about July 10^th 1863) either with Gen’l A.H. Terry on James Island, or with Gen’l Q.A. Gillmore on Folly or Morris Island, up to the night of the 26^th August, I was continuously on duty, but from 26^th August to 2^nd Sept. was not on duty, and this interregnum was compelled by the shock and bruises rec’d as set forth in the application, and as will be hereafter more particularly described.

At the time of the explosion I was leaning upon the parapet of our yet imperfect trench, and now directly beneath the guns of Fort Wagner. The Fort loomed in front a huge indefinate mass, and I was resting and peering at the space between, which before had been to us “terra incognita,” trying to see what kind of ground we had yet to traverse before the work was ours; but exulting in the fact that after this night’s advance, we had got out of the gloomy uncertain days of the seige, and that the Fort must surely fall, and then Charleston, and Sumter, and Charleston Harbor would be completely controlled by our guns.

The firing from Wagner which through the night had been terrific, had nearly, if not altogether ceased – only the vertical fire from the batteries on James Island, from Gregg, Johnson, and an occasional shell form Moultrie continued in usual effective force. I believe that the rest and look I was taking, leaning and partly lying, upon the parapet in front saved my life, for though receiving the shock through the earth, it yielded upward in the line of least resistance, and only laterally and in its falling motion partially enveloped me – the torpedoes were ten gallon vinegar or lager beer kegs, about half filled with powder – into the bilge of these was fitted an apparatus having a brass plunger resting upon a fulminate; when planted the top of the plunger was left a little above the earth, and upon a light piece of wood or shingle was placed to resemble drift – we had dug one trench by the end of this particular one, and thrown the earth over and partially on it. How it was exploded by the man at work next to me I cannot tell – whether he struck it with his shovel, or threw earth upon its plunger it was alike fatal to him and nearly so to me. It was only in camp the following day my bewildered mind recovered coherent recollections. Thinking it a bursting shell, I had remembrance of the flash, the stunning force, and the sound, and as in a dream I remembered the sensations which succeeded: the first of these were etherially pleasant, but the latter and those accompanying returning consciousness were indescribably dismal. Of what happened after extricating myself from the debris I had only dim remembrance – of standing in an exposed place and speaking with Maj. Brooks, of turning over the Engineer command of the trenches to the officer relieving me, and of assistance rendered by the soldiers in returning to camp I was aware – but in confused form – very different from all the dangers transactions and events which preceded the explosion, and which graphically and indellibly were fixed in my memory.

I do not remember that the injury in the groin while laid up in camp, was conspicuous over the general bruise my whole body had sustained for several days; but I do remember and know that it was the last that gave me pain. I cannot remember that ever during my term of service, though nearly always upon the front, and often sick, sore, and bruised, I had recourse to a surgeon, and at this time did not though I think it likely some of my surgeon friends called at my tent to offer assistance if needed – rest, absolute rest, and ordinary care was all I considered necessary to complete recovery.

After the pain passed away, the enlargement remained, and continued a little soft painless thing, covering an area of about a quarter dollar, and having a quite perceptible bulge. I did not know it was a hernia -- I had no experience in hernias – of all the people I had ever known not more than two or three had ever acknowledged themselves to me suffering from hernia, and these had given me no information as to the origin. If I had any thought on the subject, it was that if a person had one he would know it, for it would give him sensible pain. I have often thought since, and now believe, that at times it did pain me, but being at the time on hard duty, I had accounted it to the incident fatigue exposure and excitement.

I have in my mind however, that from its first appearance I was conscious of its presence as I have described it, and in my cogitations upon it I thought it the harmless remains of some sort of sprain of ligament or gland; I could as I distinctly remember smoothe out beneath the skin what seemed to be serous matter, somewhat the same as the puff on a horses leg – which it appeared in most respects to resemble – but as before stated it became in 1866 painfully apparent in its true nature, and form that time has been often somewhat strangulated, and from 1872 the subject of frequent consultations with my family physician (Dr. A. Monteiro) who has at each time advised me as to its dangerous character.

One other explanation I will now make – ever since 1866 I knew it to be a hernia, and that on account of it I was entitled to a pension. But I considered that I had property and means and brains sufficient, never to require such aid from the Gov’t. Times are now changed, and justice to myself and family requires me to make this application, and to receive from a generous country the award she makes to those who have in the discharge of dangerous and arduous duties been injured in her defense.

For information as to the circumstances narrated here, in the application, and as to that portion of my military history involved in the siege of Fort Wagner, I refer you to Gen’l Q. A. Gillmore’s Report on the siege of Charleston, and especially to the portion of the Report which is contained in the Report and Journal of Maj. T. B. Brooks, directing Engineer of the siege operations to reduce Fort Wagner.

Very respectfully,

Your Obed’t Ser’t

Joseph Walker

Formerly Capt. & Maj. 1^st N.Y. Vol. Eng’rs