- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
- Location
- Nashville
K Hale,
That site reminded me of something I read a while ago - another Forrest story! When he was laid up with his shot foot from Tupelo, he was staying at a widow's house. (Gosh, it's been awhile - let me see if I get this right!) The lady had a little girl, around 6 or so, and she sent the girl upstairs with a bowl of hot soup for the general. Just as the girl made it to the bedside she caught her toe on a rug and spilled the whole red-hot thing over Forrest's chest. He came up roaring, as one might expect, scared the bejabbers out of the kid and said a few things she probably ought not to have heard - but he immediately apologized, picked her up and pretty soon they were having a good old time playing together. He decided it would be beneficial to get himself downstairs for dinners - once with the boiling soup on the chest was enough! - so he spent his free time whittling him a crutch. Once he got it made he gave it a test run across the room to a window, the first time he'd been there. That's when he saw King Philip grazing in the back lot and it was love at first sight! Don't know if this story is true, lots of Forrest legends, but it's a good one anyway!
Morton was Gould's captain - he'd put in lots of good words for Gould and even told Forrest he believed he'd wronged Gould. He got his ears pinned back for it but decided he would say it again when Forrest's temper eased off. It seems to me that Forrest did realize maybe Gould couldn't have gotten the guns after all and had done the best he could, but now that he had ordered the lieutenant's transfer it wouldn't be good appearances to back off of it. If Gould had cooled his heels a little, chances are Morton might have been able to fix it with Forrest. Morton said somewhere in his account of the affair that he regretted losing a fine officer, so Gould did have merit.
For the little it's worth, I somehow remember the widow was the sister of the governor of Mississippi. Forrest was well connected. During that stay, there is a story that Gen. James Harrison Wilson was having communication problems. He sent a message to Forrest and asked to be allowed to dine with him. At dinner, Wilson calmly asked, "Have you seen Croxton?" (a Union regimental commander) Forrest calmly replied, "he's up that road about 12 miles". Very little passed by Forrest without notice being made. Wilson had proposed a prisoner swap which Forrest rejected, mostly due to the fact he had no prisoners and wasn't authorized for the swap if he had.