First, let me say this: There are 3 or more men named Lewis Garrison at about the same time, and it is difficult to tell them apart in the records. Second, this information comes from the online images of Confederate pension applications at the Library of Virginia: http://eagle.vsla.edu/conpen/virtua-basic.html These can be hard to read, and what I have below may contain errors. Next, some background: Homer D. Musselman's 47TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY (Virginia Regimental Histories Series, 1991) says that Lewis Garrison was an 18-year-old laborer in Stafford County when he enlisted on 2 July 1861 in Company A of the 47th Virginia Infantry. He was present on roll calls through the end of 1862. His name appears on clothing receipt rolls for February through June 1863. According to his pension application, Lewis was wounded in the leg by buck and ball and in the chest by a shell fragment in the fighting at Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863. According to information in the Virginia State Library, he served until the end of the war. Now, information from the pension application: Lewis Garrison first applied for a pension in Stafford County on 18 April 1888. He said that he was then 47 years old, which would mean a birth year of 1840-1841. He stated that he had been wounded in May 1863 -- "a ball and buckshot in the leg and a large piece of shell in the [left side of the] chest." He explained, "The wound in the chest caused hemorrhage from which I am still suffering which prevents me from working at all." The application was certified by C. H. Ashton, Judge of the County Court. County Clerk C. A. Bryan signed a statement that the claim had been found just and "sustained by the proofs." Musselman says that this claim was refused, but the outside of the folder indicates that Lewis did receive a pension. Lewis Garrison made a second application for a pension on 12 June 1902. I do not know whether this means that he did not in fact receive a pension under his 1888 application, or whether the law required another application. In this application, Lewis stated that he was living at Williamsville in Stafford County. He stated that he had served in Company A, 47th Virginia Regiment. He was wounded around 3 May 1863 in the battle at Chancellorsville. He was now 59 years old. [This would mean a birth year of 1842-1843.] He was born in Stafford County and had lived there all his life. I cannot decipher his occupation. Whatever it was, he "had to stop it." There are several answers that I cannot read (at least in the online image; they may be more readable on the microfilm). Asked for the names of 2 comrades who can testify to his service, he listed Charlie Johnston of Aquia Creek, Stafford County, and John Garrison of Mount, Stafford County. Lewis Garrison signed with "X his mark." ! John C. Cox, a Notary Public, witnessed his signature. R. H. Bryan and J. L. Berry signed a statement saying that they had known Lewis for 3 years and that he had "a reputation for truth and honesty." The Affidavit of Comrades states that the comrades had known Lewis for 40 years, that they had served with him in the 47th Regiment, and that they knew that he was wounded at Chancellorsville. It is signed by A. F. Newlon (X his mark) and Jno H Stone (X his mark). Their signatures were witnessed by C. A. Bryan, Clerk of the County Court. R. H. Bryan and J. L. Berry testified that although they were not comrades, of their personal knowledge, Lewis Garrison was a "loyal and true soldier," and that a wound from a piece of shell prevented his performing manual labor. R. J. Payne, M.D., stated that a shell-wound inflicted during the war had caused total disability. Commissioner of Revenue Wesley King made a statement about Lewis's real and personal property; I cannot determine whether the total value listed is $25 or $251. A letter to the Confederate Pensions Board, written by D. M. Lee on 21 April 1904, objected to the award of pensions to Lewis Garrison and B. A. Cooper, since "they were proven by their company comrades to have deserted the Cause." This letter is entirely unreadable in the online image. The reply, from a Pension Clerk in Richmond, says that Lee was President of the Pension Board in Stafford County, and that his letter said that Lewis's case came up before the County Pension Board and was turned down because Lewis was "reported by his comrades as a deserter to the Cause." The clerk said that the pension check would be withheld until a certificate was received from the Pension Board "clearing the record of Mr. Garrison." J. M. Meredith wrote a letter defending his "near neighbor," Lewis Garrison. First, he says, the withholding of the check was surely illegal, as (1) the pension had been legally and publicly granted and (2) it allowed the accused no way to defend himself, because the "detrimental charge" was made privately. Meredith states that he himself served as the Chaplain of the 47th Regiment, and that in helping the surgeon and on the battlefield, he came to know the soldiers very well. "From my personal knowledge I can take oath that Lewis Garrison that this letter referred to was a brave, good soldier." Never, until D. M. Lee's letter, had he heard a word against his character or reputation. As his neighbor, he has seen that he was "weak, and often disabled" by his wounds. He offered to testify before the Pension Board and signed his 3-page handwritten letter with his full name, Rev. Jaquelin Marshall Meredith, and "Chaplain of the 47th Regiment of Virginia troops in the Division of! A. P. Hill -- Jackson's Corps, R. E. Lee's Army." The pension file does not show how the situation was resolved. It contains no "certificate" from the County Pension Board. Musselman indicates that Lewis did then receive a full pension of $30 a year. Summary by Laura Keyes Perry keyesperry@msn.com