It would be interesting to know how many of the desertion records were "corrected." Orchestrating an Act of Congress was a huge effort then as now and makes me suspicious as to motivation. Was it really about the $18 a month, or clearing a politically connected person's name?
The controversy is understandable, given the drain on the Treasury. The South at least means tested soldiers' pensions, if not always evenly or fairly.
Federal soldier pensions were at first given for disability alone. But, as veterans grew older, the qualifications were loosened. Partial disability, extreme poverty, etc became grounds. Eventually, honorable service and old age alone became the deciding factors, turning the system into sort of a forerunner of Social Security. The veterans organized (GAR etc) and pushed hard for universal pensions -- and the veteran vote was, indeed, actively courted.
As late as 1894, the Report of the Chief of the Records and Pension Office reported
3,731 applications, under those Acts, for removal of desertion charges
in that year alone. What percentage of such applications was successful, I do not know. Most were corrected through examination of the carded records. That 1894 report, stated that since the program began, a total of
41,127,149 cards containing information extracted from the original rolls, etc, had been assembled, of which over
6,027,000 had been added
just in that year. The records clearing a desertion charge from one soldier, might be among the 5 or 6 million cards to be completed
next year or the year after, or 5 years down the road. Until that time, his application would be denied ... unless
he could provide proof himself, or know someone with influence who could get an Act passed.
The principal Congressional Acts for general removal of desertion charges can be found
HERE. There were also a good many private, individual Acts for relief. These are found in the Congressional Record and other congressional documents, sometimes with extensive discussion, testimony, affidavits etc. Two simple examples from 1890:
from:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1890-pt5-v21/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1890-pt5-v21-3.pdf (p.4163, where one can read those 'annexed' doxuments regarding the David Barnhart case)
An excellent article on "
America's First Social Security System: The Expansion of Benefits for Civil War Veterans" from Political Science Quarterly, can be downloaded at JSTOR.