I cannot speak so confidently about the fighting qualities of the Eastern men, or what are called Yankees - not knowing myself particularly to whom the appellation belongs - but this I do know - if the Southerners think that man for man they are better than our Illinois men, or western men generally, they will discover themselves in a grievous mistake.
Abraham Lincoln (2002). “Conversations With Lincoln”, p.158, Transaction Publishers
![I cannot speak so confidently about the fighting qualities of the Eastern men, or what are called Yankees - not knowing myself particularly to whom the appellation belongs - but this I do know - if the Southerners think](http://cdn.quoteddaily.com/images/abraham-lincoln/i-cannot-speak-so-confidently-about-the-fighting-qualities-of-the-eastern-men-or-what-are-called-yankees--.jpg)