“Whiskey Courage in Abundance”
K. Michael Gamble
As the Battle of Antietam raged
into a harvest of death, Confederate and Union soldiers were ordered to remain
steadfast in the execution of their orders. Evidence of their bravery was evident through out the day as
both armies attacked and counterattacked. As the toll of human life mounted, however, many soldiers
questioned the decisions that sent men into harms way. Were these orders given by officers who
were thinking in rational and logical ways, or were orders given by intoxicated
amateurs who were hell bent for glory at the expense of soldier lives? How prevalent was the use of liquor at
the battle, and did this affect the welfare of the troops?
.
The Irish Brigade had achieved a reputation
for its fighting spirit. These
Irish immigrants were proving that they were worthy of defending their adopted
country. During the attack on the
sunken road, Brigadier General Thomas F. Meagher ordered his troops in Brigade
formation over a cornfield, open pasture, and plowed field as well as three
fences towards an entrenched position supported by artillery. This frontal attack was ordered while
an adjacent brigade commanded by BG John Caldwell was flanking the Confederates
defenders to his left. In front of
the sunken road were troops from previous attacks protected by a small ridge 60
yards from the Confederates.
Troops from Nathan Kimball’s brigade were pouring rifle fire towards
Confederate brigades commanded by G.B. Anderson and Robert Rhodes as well as at
Richard Anderson’s reinforcements moving towards the lane from the south. In the middle of this intense fire
fight, BG Meagher was urging his men forward. Meagher will report that near the end of the engagement “My
horse having been shot under me as the engagement was about ending and from the
shock which I myself sustained, I was obliged to be carried off the
field”. Soon, rumors were
circulated that Meagher had been drunk and had actually fallen from his
horse. Colonel David H. Strother,
a member of General McClellan’s staff wrote in his diary the following day that
Meagher was not killed as reported, but drunk, and fell from his horse. Another story was circulated by
Whitelaw Reid of the Cincinnati Gazette that Meagher was “too drunk to keep the
saddle, fell from his horse …several times, was once assisted to remount by Gen
Kimball of Indiana, almost immediately fell off again”. These reports may have reflected
prejudiced viewpoints and the power of rumor and innuendo. However, there can be no doubt that Meagher
was a heavy drinker and had a lack of military knowledge and experience. For example, of the four regiments in
the Irish Brigade, only the 69th NY, 63rd NY and 88th
NY were ordered to charge the road after discharging five volleys. The 29th Mass had the most
protective position and was positioned between the 69th and 63rd.
As Meagher pointed out in his report, he sent orders only to the Irish commanders
and not to the 29th Mass.
Was there any advantage in holding the 29th Mass back? Was
this decision formulated with purpose or a spur of the moment reaction? What type of shock could have been
sustained that would entail evacuation from the field of action? One of Meagher’s regimental commanders, Colonel John Burke
disgraced himself by being conspicuously absent from his post as the 63rd
NY was being shot to pieces.
Many questions remain about Meagher’s actions and whether there could
have been a cover-up after the battle.
During the afternoon of the battle,
Major Thomas W. Hyde of the 7th Maine was ordered to take his
regiment across open ground south of the sunken road to clear confederate
sharpshooters from the Piper farm and orchard. The officer giving the order was the Sixth Corps Colonel
William Irwin. Hyde will claim
that only a drunkard would give such an order and suggested that it was a job
for a brigade not a regiment. Upon
Hyde’s request, Irwin repeated his order and the 7th Maine advanced
towards the Piper barn and haystacks where it was hit from three directions by
deadly rifle fire. Retreating back
to their jumping off point, the 7th Maine lost half of their 181 men. Hyde will later say that the order was
“from an inspiration of John Barleycorn in our brigade commander alone”.
Another example of “whiskey
courage” might have been MG James Longstreet himself. Suffering from a painful heel spur and a “crippled hand”
Longstreet was wearing a carpet slipper on his left foot during the
battle. As the Union army took
possession of the sunken road, they surged through the cornfield south of the
road and towards the Piper Orchard.
At this critical point of the battle, Longstreet held the reins of his
staff officers’ horses and ordered them to man firing positions among Millers
Battery which was on the perimeter of the orchard. LT William Owen described this situation as follows”
Longstreet was on horseback at our side, sitting side-saddle fashion, and
occasionally making some practical remark about the situation. He talked earnestly and gesticulated to
encourage us, as the men of the detachments began to fall around our guns, and
told us he would have given us a lift if he had not crippled his hand. But, crippled or not, we noticed that
he had strength enough left to carry his flask to his mouth, as probably
everybody else did on that terrible hot day, who had any supplies at command to
bring to a carry.” Straw papered liquor
flasks and a telescoping silver cup were popular accouterments in both the
Federal and Confederate Armies.
The ready source of liquor by officers was a source of much resentment
from the enlisted men.
Prior to the battle, Longstreet may
have shown self-discipline regarding drinking alcohol from a practical
perspective. While visiting his
new headquarters at the Piper home, Longstreet and D.H.Hill were offered
refreshments in the form of wine by members of the Piper Family. At first, Longstreet politely
declined. But after seeing General
Hill not experiencing any ill effects from drinking the wine, said “Ladies, I
will thank you for some of that wine”. (Too Afraid to Cry, p. 128)
The other Confederate wing
commander, Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, appeared more enamored
of fresh fruit than alcoholic beverages.
However, Major Henry Kyd Douglas, a member of Jackson’s staff, reported
that he observed Jackson taking a whiskey toddy on the march towards
Martinsburg Va (W.Va). Douglas
wrote “While mixing it leisurely, he remarked that he believed he liked the
taste of whisky and brandy more that any soldier in the army; that they were
more palatable to him than the most fragrant coffee, and for that reason he
rarely tasted them “(Battles and Leaders p. 623) Jackson could take his troops
to task about the presence of whiskey.
During one trip in the Potomac River, Jackson ordered staves of barrels
busted apart and dumped into the water.
Enterprising confederates went downstream with buckets and dipped the
diluted beverage for later use. Perhaps the dilution affected the taste. Commissary whiskey was described as
“bark juice, tar water, turpentine, brown sugar, lamp-oil and alcohol.”(p. 253
Billy Yank, Wiley)
Apparently, wine was a favorite
drink of the farmers as Mr. William Roulette who resided north of the Sunken
Road included “six gallons of blackberry wine @ $2 per gallon on his list of
compensatory items presented to the U.S. Government after the battle. This wine could have been used for
“medicinal” purposes since the Roulette farmhouse became the site of a field
hospital. Spirits were used for
medicinal purposes. Regiments had
a stock of “commissary” on hand as well as bottles of patient medicine that had
high alcohol content. (Soldiers Life, Time Life, 1996)
As the fighting reached its climax
at the Lower Bridge, Colonel Edward Ferrero was ordered to take the bridge at
about 12:15 PM. The attack plan
called for the 51st PA and 51st NY to conduct a direct
charge on the bridge from the bluffs east of the Antietam Creek with the 21st
Mass. in reserve. Standing in
front of the brigade before the attack, Ferrero shouted “It is General Burnside’s
special request that the two 51sts take that bridge. Will you do it?”
Apparently, the stillness was broken when Corporal Lewis Patterson yelled
towards the Colonel “Will you give us our whiskey if we take it?” Ferraro’s reply was “Yes by God, you
shall all have as much as you want, if you take the bridge. I don’t mean the
whole brigade, but you two regiments shall have just as much as you want, if it
is in the commissary or I have to send to New York to get it, and pay for it
out of my own private purse, that is if I live to see you through it! Will you
take?” “Yes” was the resounding
answer. On September 19, 1862,
Colonel Edward Ferraro was promoted to Brigadier General and on the next day,
the 51st Pa got their whiskey as promised.” (Will you give us our
whiskey” p...22 Civil War Battles Brother vs. Brother Special Issue Summer 2006)
Perhaps General McClellan was not aware of Ferraro’s promise. McClellan was on record for condemning
the use of liquor amongst his troops. After liquor provoked insubordination in
Hookers Division in February, 1862, McClellan stated the following “No one evil
agent so much obstructs the army…as the degrading vice of drunkenness. It is the cause of by far the greater
part of the disorders which are examined by courts martial. It is impossible to estimate the
benefits that would accrue to the service from the adoption of a resolution on
the part of officers to set the example of total abstinence from intoxicating
liquors. It would be worth 50,000
men to the armies of the United States.” (Hqrs. Army of Potomac G.O. 40.
February 4, 1862)
After the Battle of Antietam, the
disagreeable task of burying bodies left out in the elements for four days fell
to the 137th Pennsylvania Regiment. An officer named Bingham secured permission from the provost
marshal’s office to buy liquor for his men because he believed they would be
able to carry out their orders only if they were drunk. (The Republic of
Suffering P. 69).
The evidence is conclusive. Liquor was used by soldiers during the
Battle of Antietam. At times,
officers in positions of authority had been drinking liquor. Did this drinking affect the final
outcome of the battle? It appears as that it was more the absence of well co-coordinated
and cohesive planning and the large numbers of inexperienced soldiers that had
the most impact. The horrors of
combat affected the soldiers in many ways and the acceptance of liquor in the
19th century as a panacea for all problems is evident. It is understandable that the military
reflected the values of American society
and that the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest one day in American
history, produced enough horror and devastation to be tempted with some induced
relief from liquor.
