- Joined
- Feb 20, 2005
I read somewhere & seen on the History Channel that Meagher was drunk at Antietam ..
But I cant recall the source or the show title ..
Any Ideas?
But I cant recall the source or the show title ..
Any Ideas?
I have heard and read that as well. Was it mentioned on Civil War Combat: The Bloody Lane at Antietam? I don’t recall if it was or not. Great series too.I read somewhere & seen on the History Channel that Meagher was drunk at Antietam ..
But I cant recall the source or the show title ..
Any Ideas?
I read somewhere & seen on the History Channel that Meagher was drunk at Antietam ..
But I cant recall the source or the show title ..
Any Ideas?
Thank youReading about Antietam sure makes me pull heavily at the whiskey bottle ...
Timothy Egan, The Immortal Irishman (AMH, 2016), p. 222 purports that "Meagher had slept on the ground, and his face looked puffy." p. 225: "Meagher tossed off his hat and tried to finish the battle. Just then, his horse took a blast in the head, reared p in panic, a blood pattern sprayed on its white mane. Meagher was thrown to the ground--the fourth Union general to go down. Concussed by his fall, he couldn't tell up from down, light from dark. Two soldiers dragged him back among other wounded in the haystacks. The forage was not much of a refuge: soon the stacks caught fire in the rain of explosives, burning men alive." p. 228, two months after the battle, "[Private Wm. McCarter, 116th PA Inf.] as he confided to his diary, worshiped the Irishman who could speak at least five languages, recite an epic poem without missing a line, make roll call seem like an ode. 'He had a voice that sounded like a lion,' he wrote in one of his perfectly penned sentences, as if the words were standing at inspection. But now: who was this stumbling soul leaning against his tent pole? ... Meagher grunted, slurred something that sounded like nothing. The general reeked of whiskey, which he called 'a smile,' as in 'Let's have a smile before dinner.' Soldiers used a dozen other terms for the infantry's only real diversion--busthead, knock-'em-stiff, dead shot among them. In the worst year for the Army of the Potomac, liquor was medicinal and ubiquitous, for officers and infantry-men, Irish and native-born. The best general of the North, Ulysses S. Grant, was widely viewed as a drunk. He'd been forced to resign in 1854, his reputation in ruins. He got his second chance after volunteering in 1861, though his reliance on heavy drink had not diminished. ... And hearing yet again that Grant was overly fond of whiskey, the president asked what brand, and wondered if he should send a keg to each of his other commanders. But even with all the high-octane spirits flowing through the depressed ranks of the Union Army, no one in the brigade had seen Thomas Francis Meagher like this--a standing man, blank-faced; the great conversationalist, mute; the wit of Bull Sumners' corps, staggered. 'He was very drunk,' McCarter wrote on November 13, 1862, 'and looked strangely wild.' "
Although this is what McCarter wrote about seeing Meagher drunk in the camp on Bolivar Heights at Harper's Ferry - right before breaking his fall downhill into a waiting fire-pit! - in all fairness to the General, you should also mention that McCarter repeatedly states that it was the only time he ever saw his commander in that condition, and that he worked closely with him daily only a short time later as a headquarters clerk.… two months after the battle, "[Private Wm. McCarter, 116th PA Inf.] as he confided to his diary, worshiped the Irishman who could speak at least five languages, recite an epic poem without missing a line, make roll call seem like an ode. 'He had a voice that sounded like a lion,' he wrote in one of his perfectly penned sentences, as if the words were standing at inspection. But now: who was this stumbling soul leaning against his tent pole? ... Meagher grunted, slurred something that sounded like nothing. The general reeked of whiskey, which he called 'a smile,' as in 'Let's have a smile before dinner.'.. But even with all the high-octane spirits flowing through the depressed ranks of the Union Army, no one in the brigade had seen Thomas Francis Meagher like this--a standing man, blank-faced; the great conversationalist, mute; the wit of Bull Sumners' corps, staggered. 'He was very drunk,' McCarter wrote on November 13, 1862, 'and looked strangely wild.' "
Not sure how much credibility this story has. I believe two officers in another brigade, (Lt. Thomas Livermore and Col. Cross?), are the source for this. There maybe others however that I am not aware of.
Even though Cross says something like " Meagher was drunk as usual", if he was drunk on this occasion it seems to me it must not have been a regular thing as I believe his boss, "Greasy Dick" Richardson, was something of a "hard a-- " and would not have tolerated it if Meagher's drinking interfered with his duty.
If I remember correctly Richardson charged a superior, Col. Dixon S. Miles, with being intoxicated on duty at one time in his career.
I believe that Cross and Livermore were both New Englanders, where there was no love for Irish Catholics at that time.
It is my impression that Richardson was no "tea tottler" himself.
There was also rumor that Meagher was murdered.
These are just my immediate thoughts on the subject.