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Story
November 17, 1897
The Watchman And Southron
Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
What is this article about?
Civil War General Nichols, who lost an arm, leg, and eye at the Battle of Winchester, recounts a humorous incident during his Louisiana gubernatorial campaign where a servant's sympathy turns to shock upon removing his prosthetics and a joke about his head.
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A TRIFLE TOO MUCH.
How an Old Darky's Sympathy Was Unfeelingly Imposed Upon.
General Nichols of Louisiana commanded a brigade of infantry during the valley campaign in Virginia which so immortalized the name of Stonewall Jackson. In one of the three famous victories over Banks, Milroy and Shields, says the Nashville American, the Louisiana brigade bore a conspicuous part, and its gallant commander was carried from the field mortally wounded, as every one supposed, but good nursing and skillful surgery saved the life of the general. He left a leg and an arm on the battlefield and lost one of his eyes. He wears an artificial leg on one side of his body and an arm on the opposite. The pluck which enabled him to withstand these terrible wounds, and to which he is indebted for his life, perhaps, more than to any other cause, sticks to him yet, and he is one of the most jovial of men, enjoying a good joke as much as anybody. He tells this one on himself:
When canvassing for governor, he was invited by a lady who knew of his loss of limbs to make her house his home, and he accepted. She ordered her manservant, who knew nothing of the general's misfortune, to see that he was comfortably put to bed. The darky felt proud of the honor of serving a distinguished general and the next governor, and the general was inclined to be communicative, which delighted the negro very much and made him feel at home with his guest. When he took the general's arm off and laid it on the table, he commenced to express great sympathy, saying:
"It sho' is bad for a man to lose he arm dat erway! An de Yankees done dis, did dey?"
When the general told him to take his leg off, the negro thought he was joking, but went at it in a businesslike way, though he was almost ready to shed tears of sympathy this time. Placing the leg on the table by the side of the arm and looking at the general, he said:
"Umph! Leg off on one side an arm off on t'other. Dat is too bad, to cut a man up in dat sort o' way."
The general saw the opportunity for a little fun had come, so, leaning his body forward, said:
"Come, now, take my head off."
But the negro was gone.
How an Old Darky's Sympathy Was Unfeelingly Imposed Upon.
General Nichols of Louisiana commanded a brigade of infantry during the valley campaign in Virginia which so immortalized the name of Stonewall Jackson. In one of the three famous victories over Banks, Milroy and Shields, says the Nashville American, the Louisiana brigade bore a conspicuous part, and its gallant commander was carried from the field mortally wounded, as every one supposed, but good nursing and skillful surgery saved the life of the general. He left a leg and an arm on the battlefield and lost one of his eyes. He wears an artificial leg on one side of his body and an arm on the opposite. The pluck which enabled him to withstand these terrible wounds, and to which he is indebted for his life, perhaps, more than to any other cause, sticks to him yet, and he is one of the most jovial of men, enjoying a good joke as much as anybody. He tells this one on himself:
When canvassing for governor, he was invited by a lady who knew of his loss of limbs to make her house his home, and he accepted. She ordered her manservant, who knew nothing of the general's misfortune, to see that he was comfortably put to bed. The darky felt proud of the honor of serving a distinguished general and the next governor, and the general was inclined to be communicative, which delighted the negro very much and made him feel at home with his guest. When he took the general's arm off and laid it on the table, he commenced to express great sympathy, saying:
"It sho' is bad for a man to lose he arm dat erway! An de Yankees done dis, did dey?"
When the general told him to take his leg off, the negro thought he was joking, but went at it in a businesslike way, though he was almost ready to shed tears of sympathy this time. Placing the leg on the table by the side of the arm and looking at the general, he said:
"Umph! Leg off on one side an arm off on t'other. Dat is too bad, to cut a man up in dat sort o' way."
The general saw the opportunity for a little fun had come, so, leaning his body forward, said:
"Come, now, take my head off."
But the negro was gone.
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Misfortune
Bravery Heroism
What keywords are associated?
General Nichols
Civil War Wounds
Prosthetic Limbs
Humorous Anecdote
Servant Sympathy
Louisiana Governor Campaign
What entities or persons were involved?
General Nichols
Old Darky
Where did it happen?
Louisiana
Story Details
Key Persons
General Nichols
Old Darky
Location
Louisiana
Story Details
During his campaign for governor of Louisiana, General Nichols stays at a lady's home where her unaware servant removes his prosthetic arm and leg, expresses deep sympathy for his war wounds, and flees in terror when the general jokingly asks him to remove his head.