Sarah Vowell Quote
Abraham Lincoln had a soft spot for deserters, whom he called his legs cases. Though many of his military commanders grumbled about Lincoln’s leniency — traditionally, runaways were shot — the president preferred incarceration to execution, asking, If Almighty God gives a man a cowardly pair of legs how can he help their running away with him?
Sarah Vowell
Abraham Lincoln had a soft spot for deserters, whom he called his legs cases. Though many of his military commanders grumbled about Lincoln’s leniency — traditionally, runaways were shot — the president preferred incarceration to execution, asking, If Almighty God gives a man a cowardly pair of legs how can he help their running away with him?