William Strong, Halliburton v. United States — Opinion of the Court
“ The plea does not aver that there was any obstacle in the say of payment at the time when by law the payment was required to be made, or for a considerable period thereafter. If, then, it were sufficiently averred that after the 1st of June, 1861, payment was prevented by public enemies, there would still appear a default of the obligors, for which no excuse is offered, a fault which led directly to the loss of the public money. ”
