OH BE JOYFUL

The title of today’s post is a Civil War slang term for alcohol. In two of today’s diary entries, Philip mentions being sent out to search for whiskey. Although it is unclear why his men were searching for whiskey, the Union army often used it for medicinal purposes in camp. Whiskey, often made from corn instead of grain, was the most popular alcoholic drink in 1861. Hard cider and beer were popular non-distilled drinks. Cider, made from apples was more common, however beer was gaining in popularity with the influx of German immigrants.

Colonel James H. Childs of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry pours drinks for his officers and those visiting from the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry
Source: www.Historynet.com

Excessive drinking was a prevalent problem on both sides of the conflict. Both the Union and Confederate armies issued guidelines on the use of liquor, as an aid to combat fatigue and exposure. However, the availability of liquor rations often depended on the commanding officers. Camps with tee-totaling officers received less “spirit rations” than others. Enlisted soldiers were not allowed to procure their own alcohol, however they often managed to obtain it and “self-medicate” on a regular basis. A great deal of alcohol was sent to soldiers in care packages from home. This prompted the opening and inspection of all care packages. Small bottles were often hidden inside innocent-looking objects in the packages such as small tins of cake or bread with the bottoms cut out, or even inside of a well-roasted turkey.

Source: National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Whiskey was also commonly used for medicinal purposes in Civil War camps to treat soldiers suffering from wounds or other ailments. The surgeon general urged Union hospitals to keep a supply of liquor on hand at all times and to prescribe it to sick or wounded soldiers to “stimulate the body and help it recover.” Quinine was regularly given to soldiers to combat malaria. The bitter medicine was often mixed with whiskey to make it more palatable.

The prevalence of alcohol abuse by civil war soldiers during and after the Civil War prompted the rise in temperance movements across the country.

Sources:

_______________


JULY 28TH
A revenue cutter (a fast ship used to patrol the Potomac) came before our camp and commenced target practice over our camp. Some of the pieces came very close to hitting some of the men.

JULY 30TH
Was inspected by Lieutenant Colonel Haskins (likely Lt. Col. Joseph A. Haskin, who was in command of the XXII Corps' Defenses of Washington, D.C.) …and had a very close time of it. The sun burns so hot that we suffered very much.

AUGUST 1ST
Had a big drill. Very hot. Rumored that Petersburg was taken by Grant.

AUGUST 2ND
Our whole command was turned out to cut brush away from in front of the forts to keep the rebel sharpshooters from getting us(?). It is rumored that we was repulsed in front of Petersburg.

AUGUST 4TH
Was on police all day. Had a dance in the barracks. At 9pm was sent outside the picket line to search a house for whiskey but was unsuccessful and arrested all the persons that we found in the hay.

AUGUST 5TH
Was sent out in search of whiskey but found nothing but a barrel of hard cider which we confiscated & stove in the heads.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1st Regiment, West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery C

Image
Philip L. Loufman was a Private with the 1 st Regiment, West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery C.  The history of the battery is a little confusing but I've pieced together some information from various sources. The battery started out as the 18th Ohio Volunteer Militia, Company B, which was mustered out in August 1861. In September 1861, almost the entire company reenlisted as a battery of light artillery and was offered to the service of Governor Pierpont of West Virginia. The company traveled from Marietta, Ohio to Wheeling, West Virginia.  Battery C (Pierpont Battery) was organized in Wheeling during the first part of 1862.    Most of the men in the battery were from Washington County, Ohio.  I was not able to find a picture of Battery C. But I imagine this photo of Battery F gives a good idea of what Battery C might look like. The battery fought in several battles throughout 1862 and 1863 including Cross Keys, Chancellorsville, the second Battle of Bull ...
Read more

Starting Over

Image
Back in high school (early 1980s) I became aware that my grandmother had a Civil War diary from my great-great grandfather Philip L. Loufman. At that time (way before personal computers), I went to her house with a pad of yellow lined paper determined to transcribe the diary. It didn't take me long to be overwhelmed by the task (probably 5 or 10 minutes). The entries were all written in pencil and difficult to read. Add to that my almost total lack of interest in the Civil War, and I had little to no context to understand much of what my great-great grandfather was writing about. What I could understand wasn't very exciting - days on end of drills, fishing and picking blackberries. Needless to say my first attempt at a handwritten transcript didn't get very far.  Years later, in the early 2000s, after my grandmother had passed away, I asked my mom for the diary so I could transcribe it. This second attempt went much better. I had slightly more patience and knowledge of the ...
Read more

Long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror

Image
The title of this post is a quote I’ve seen and heard in various forms. I have not been able to pin down a definitive source of the quote but a version of it seems to have been around as early as World War I and seems to apply to the Civil War as well. The life of the soldier was filled with military routine: drills, guard duty, picket duty, work details and the same food every day. Many fought boredom by playing games, sketching, whittling and making music, among other activities. This is a photo of two Union soldiers whittling.  The title quote is ever present in my mind while I’m transcribing Philip's diary. There are often several days in a row with entries stating “Nothing new to report,” “guard duty all day” or “went blackberrying.” This was one of my downfalls during my previous attempts at transcribing the diary. Because of my lack of time and patience, I kept looking for all of the action. The movies don’t focus on the monotonous days of drills and guard duty. More informa...
Read more