AN EVEN EXCHANGE
William Scott failed as a soldier. He was stationed to keep watch and he fell asleep. It was his second straight evening in which he had volunteered to replace a sick comrade at this post. He was found by his relief to be sound asleep. He was tried that day, found guilty and sentenced to be shot the following day. While justice was being served, his fellow-soldiers of Company C thought mercy was in order. They hastily began their series of panicked appeals. Shortly, they had gained a hearing with Abraham Lincoln. Upon hearing the circumstances of the case and of the character of the convicted soldier, Lincoln agreed to visit the soldier. William Scott spoke later of this encounter, “The President was the kindest man I had ever seen; I knew him at once, by a Lincoln medal I had long worn. I was scared at first, for I had never before talked with a great man. But Mr. Lincoln…
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