More than all, he knew and sympathized with that
hope deferred which makes the heart sick.
Not a few men and women came, sad-faced and broken-hearted, to
plead for soldier sons or husbands in prison, or under sentence
of death by court-martial. An inmate of the White House has
recorded the eagerness with which the President caught at any
fact that would justify him in saving the life of a condemned
soldier. He was only merciless when meanness or cruelty were
clearly proved. Cases of cowardice he disliked especially to
punish with death. "It would frighten the poor devils too
terribly to shoot them," he said. On the papers in the case of
one soldier who had deserted and then enlisted again, he wrote:
"Let him fight, instead of shooting him."
He used to call these cases of desertion his "leg cases," and
sometimes when considering them, would tell the story of the
Irish soldier, upbraided by his captain, who replied: "Captain, I
have a heart in me breast as brave as Julius Caesar, but when I
go into battle, Sor, these cowardly legs of mine will run away
with me."
As the war went on, Mr. Lincoln objected more and more to
approving sentences of death by court-martial, and either
pardoned them outright, or delayed the execution "until further
orders," which orders were never given by the great-hearted,
merciful man. Secretary Stanton and certain generals complained
bitterly that if the President went on pardoning soldiers he
would ruin the discipline of the army; but Secretary Stanton had
a warm heart, and it is doubtful if he ever willingly enforced
the justice that he criticized the President for tempering with
so much mercy.
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