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

The Scourge of Whisky and Loose Women in Memphis-- Part 4: "Sell themselves and a Bottle of Liquor for a Dollar"

Continuing with George Cadman's letter to his wife.

I have come across mention that he was born and grew up in England which probably was why he made use of the 'habitues of Wapping and Shadwell" phrase.

"I shall be glad when we get orders for Vicksburg which I expect is our ultimate Destination, for here we have nothing but prisoners.  We cannot go more than 50 yards from our Camp without a pass, only in consequence of the misconduct of our Regt. in the Guard House, for offenses committed while Drunk.

"Even now women come to the very Guard line with their bodies strung round with Whisky under their clothes to sell themselves and a bottle of Liquor for a Dollar.  For the first few nights we could get no sleep for the cursing of the men [and] screaming of women and the firing of pistols outside our camp."

The 39th, Making Up for Lost Time.  --Old Secesh

The Scourge of Whisky and Loose Women at Memphis-- Part 1: "Did Not Take Them Long to Raise Hell Generally"

From the Mash Notes site.

I came across another letter written by George Hovey Cadman.  This one was a year earlier in 1863 and written from Memphis, Tennessee.  His 39th Ohio had just arrived at Memphis and he described what happened next.

George Cadman was a very literate man, even more so as an enlisted man than some officers.

Letter to his wife dated May 1863.

"When we arrived in Memphis our trouble began.  Women and whisky are plentiful here, and the men had been so long debarred from both that it did not take them long to raise Hell generally.

"Never did I see such a scene before in my life, and hope to God I never  may again for some days, in spite of all the Endeavors of the Colonel (Noyes?) who did his utmost to preserve discipline, the Camp was a wild scene of Debauchery."

The 39th Came to Party.   --Old Secesh

The Atlanta Campaign-- Part 1: "Sacrificed to Whisky and Ambition"

From theJune 26, 2014, Civil War Day By Day, UNC Library.

The case of the drunken colonel.

26 June 1864 letter from George Hovey Cadman, 39th Ohio, to his wife Esther.Sunday, June 26, describing Kennesaw Mountain.

"I told you yesterday that Col. Noyes was very anxious to storm the mountain, but that Gen. Fuller feared some trap.  For thirty-six hours they kept their artillery masked, and showed nothing but a heavy line of skirmishers, evidently thinking we would advance, but finding suckers did not bite well, yesterday morning they threw off all disguise and opened on us with a full volley of shell.

"I don't think Col. Noyes wants to storm it as badly as he did.  Could he have his way, our regiment would have been sacrificed to whisky and ambition.  Since our return from furlough he has not been the same man he was before.  When we made our reconnaissance at Resaca before the fight, he was so drunk he did not know what he was doing, and he has been worse for liquor several times since.

"The boys are getting perfectly down on him.  Fortunately he leaves next month when his three years are up.  But keep this to yourself or you may get me into trouble."

--Old Secesh