This is one of those things that native Americans probably learn at age
seven, but it is new to me. On the offchance that some American NRO readers
may have forgotten it, and for the delectation of our many foreign readers,
here is a story from the life of William Tecumseh Sherman. I have taken it
from John Marszalek’s biography, which I am reading on
the recommendation of numerous NRO readers.* This story is on page 302.
[During the march to the sea] “Sherman caught a soldier absolutely ‘covered
with plunder. Vegetables were strung all over him, hanging in bunches from
his shoulders and belt.’ From his hand hung a chicken. Sherman cursed him
for violating the foraging order. The soldier, not recognizing his
commanding officer, swore right back, and the two men faced off in a battle
of curses. Finally Sherman told his antagonist who he was, and the man
stopped swearing and introduced himself: ‘Oh hell, General, I am Abner F.
Dean, Chaplain of the 112th Massachusetts….’”
* I asked a few days ago for recommendations. Most popular: the long
section on Sherman in VDH’s The Soul of Battle, WTS’s own memoirs, and
Marszalek.