Peg Leg Pat McCann

"Peg Leg" Pat McCann

Chippewa Falls, WI

In "Wisconsin Folklore" (compiled and annotated by James P. Leary) there is an anecdote about "Peg Leg Pat McCann" and the role he played at a parade in Chippewa Falls, WI in 1876, which was organized to celebrate the completion of the railroad line between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. To the horror of onlookers, McCann allowed his leg to be cut off in front of a crowd that had gathered in front of the bank, where the parade route ended.

The horrified ladies fainted, as McCann's screams pierced the air. But the onlookers who knew McCann also knew that the leg being sawed away was merely a wooden replica. McCann was a Civil War soldier who had lost a leg, and got about on an artificial limb. Before the parade, the limb was removed, and a different one was attached in its  place. At the bank, the replacement was sawed into for show, with red paint added for effect.

Who was "Peg Leg" McCann? It seems he was a local lumber man, Arthur Johnson McCann, who was wounded and lost a leg in Petersburg, VA on June 18, 1864. Many Chippewa landmarks bear his family name.

If Arthur Johnson (A J) McCann was Peg Leg Pat, here is some identifying information:

Arthur Johnson McCann (1840-1905) m. 1861 Gertrude Nichols (1844-1893) daughter of Alvin Kennedy "Doc" Nichols and Sophronia Washburn.

A transcript at FamilySearch says father-in-law Alvin Kennedy Nichols was a lumber camp surgeon in the employ of son-in-law A J McCann.

Other sites around the internet, including Wikipedia link a Daniel McCann of Jim Falls, Chippewa County with the purchase of Old Abe, the eagle who went to war with the 8th WI. I have not researched any connections between Daniel McCann and A J McCann, but A J served with the 36th WI infantry, Co. K.

Wisconsin Folklore compiled and annotated by James P. Leary

Copyright 2012 Barbara Pahlow all rights reserved