Short Fiction · Chapter
His Pension explained
A member of Hood's brigade tells a joke to a Post's representative about a man in Indiana who applied for a pension after having his 'retreat cut off' at the Battle of Gettysburg, playing on the double meaning of the phrase.
What happens
A member of Hood's brigade tells a joke to a Post's representative about a man in Indiana who applied for a pension after having his 'retreat cut off' at the Battle of Gettysburg, playing on the double meaning of the phrase.
Themes in this chapter
Humor and Irony
The chapter uses a pun on 'retreat cut off' to create a darkly humorous anecdote about Civil War pensions.
Key passages
“He had his retreat cut off at the battle of Gettysburg!”
He had his escape route severed during the Battle of Gettysburg, but also a humorous double meaning about a surgical removal.
The punchline of the joke relies on the double meaning of 'retreat' as both a military withdrawal and a body part.