The story is often told about how President Abraham Lincoln felt about some of his Generals during the Civil War. Apparently someone complained to Lincoln about the drinking habits of General Ulysses S. Grant.

But the story is told about how Lincoln responded to this complaint by saying something like: “If I knew what brand he used, I’d send every other general in the field a barrel of it.”

It makes for a good story and it really does give us a feeling for Lincoln’s sense of humor. However, at least according to the book “Lincoln’s Stories” by David Homer Bates, Lincoln made a different response when asked if he actually said this remark. He replied to that question: ‘No, I never said that.”

Well, at least Abe was honest!