With the 45th Illinois at Shiloh-- Part 3: Union Graves and 'Half Seas Over'

"We buried  our Union boys in a separate trench, and on another board were the words:  '35 Union.'

"Many of our men had been taken away and buried separately by their comrades.  It was night when we finished the task, some of the squad, 'half seas over' with liquor, but they could not be blamed, for it was a hard job.

"The next day, we burned the dead horses and mules."

So, "Half Seas Over" is another way of saying "Snockered."

An Unpleasant Job All Around, But the Whiskey Helped.  --Old Secesh