So, Was There Really a General Tso?

I bet you didn't think so, did you?

From Wikpedia.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tso):

Zu Zōngtáng (左宗棠) (November 10, 1812-September 5, 1885), spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang in Wade-Giles and known simply as General Tso to esterners, was a gifted Chinese military leader born in Wenjialong, north of Changsha in Hunan province, during the waning of the Qing Dynasty. He served with brilliant distinction during China's most important (and the world's
largest) civil war, the 14-year-long Taiping Rebellion, in
which at least 30 million people lost their lives.

A chicken dish, "General Tso's chicken" was apparently named after him, though the reasoning behind this, if it exists, has not yet been discovered. The dish is said to have originated in New York City.