Reply #34: You must be just too young [View All]

Prior to the Civil War, Sen. Ben Wade (R-Ohio) said something on the floor which was deemed insulting to Sen. Robert Toombs (D-Ga), and a friend told Toombs, "you must challenge the old wretch!" Toombs replied, "No, I mustn't, for that old wretch is the deadliest shot in the District. Wade and I have been out practicing many times together, and he can hit a ten-cent piece at thirty paces every time, and to tell you the truth, sir, I cannot!"

“On the 18 of August, 1863, I arrived at the White House with rifle in hand, and was immediately ushered into the executive room. I found the president alone. With brief introduction I took the rifle from its case and presented it to him. Looking it over carefully and handling it as one familiar with firearms, he requested me to take it apart to show the “inwardness of the thing.” It was soon dissected, laid on the table before him. After a careful examination and his emphatic approval, I was asked if I had any engagement for the following day. When I replied that I was at his command, he requested that I “Come over tomorrow at 2 o’clock, and we will go out and see the thing shoot.”

The target was a board about six inches wide, and three feet long, with a black spot near each end. The rifle contained seven cartridges. Mr. Lincoln’s first shot was low, but the next his the bull’s eye, and the other five were close around it. “Now,” says he, “we will let the inventor try it.” Being in almost daily practice, I naturally beat the President a little. “Well,” he said, “you are younger than I am, have a better eye, and a steadier nerve.”