“Mr. President, I have a cause of grievance.” “Yes.” “This morning I went to Colonel Sherman and he threatened to shoot me.” Lincoln tipped his head, puzzled. Unwilling to get in the middle of a spat between officers, he threw off a joke, with some truth to it. “If I were you,” he said, “and he threatened to shoot, I would trust him.” For one of the few times in his life, Meagher was speechless.
