And William says, "I lost one son utterly."..."So I've held my tongue. But the truth is you didn't go to war. You went through the motions. But you turned it into graduate school. You contrived a comfortable place on the edge of the action to go study. You didn't even let the army decide your fate. You wangled your safe little job with a pre-enlistment deal and avoided the real thing. You told all the others who manned up, 'Better you do the dirty work, not me. Better your blood than mine. Robert Olen Butler
About This Quote

William Wirt, in his book "Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War", wrote about John Quincy's decision not to fight in the war. Before enlisting with his brother in the Continental Army, John Quincy spent time at Harvard, where he got a business degree. He then took a job for a year with the Massachusetts militia, but decided that wasn't for him either. He then went directly into the army, but was soon discharged due to ill health.

Source: Perfume River

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