A colonel in the Texas Brigade was bragging to the locals along the line of march about his men’s virtues and finer qualities. Just then, one of his men passed by, toting a large turkey slung over one shoulder. The embarrassed officer called out, “Where did you get that turkey?” Without breaking stride, the soldier replied, “Stole it, sir.” The colonel seized on the opportunity, turned to the civilian, and uttered, “Ah, as you see, my boys may steal, but they don’t lie.”
Harold B. Simpson, Hood’s Texas Brigade: Lee’s Grenadier Guard. (Waco, Texas: Texian Press, 1970).
