A Drunk Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg

The General's Drinking Binge During the Siege of the City

Aug 18, 2009

General Grant, the Union commander of the Vicksburg campaign, went on a two-day drinking spree, frustrating a helpful reporter.

Grant had a reputation of an alcoholic. Since his Fort Humboldt California days, the drinking rumors were rampant. Grant admitted, "when I have nothing to do I get blue and depressed...," and that he was afraid he would drink. Writer Shelby Foote concluded that the problem was sexual and boredom. With the Vicksburg campaign lulled to a siege and not having been with his wife, Julia Grant, for six weeks, trouble was brewing.

Sylvanus Cadwallader

Grant left on the morning of June 6, 1863, for an inspection trip up the Yazoo River to Satartia where he had placed a division. The Grant party boarded the steamer Diligent, including Chicago Times reporter Sylvanus Cadwallader. Cadwallader observed Grant leaving the barroom of the steamer with a staggering gait and became "stupid in speech." The reporter put Grant to bed and threw bottles of whiskey out the window of his room.

Just before nightfall, a gunboat naval officer warned the Diligent that it was dangerous for unarmed vessels to proceed upriver. Now awake, but still drunk, Grant got dressed and went ashore. Cadwallader got him back on the boat and again put him to bed. Overnight, the Diligent went back downriver to Haynes Bluff. In the morning, Grant was refreshed but observed, "I suppose we are at Satartia."

Soon, Grant managed to procure more whiskey from ashore "and was quite as much intoxicated as the day before," according to Cadwallader. By sundown, the steamer arrived at the Chickasaw Bayou landing. Unfortunately, it tied alongside a sutler boat that distributed free liquor. Cadwallader warned the sutler not to give a drop to Grant and proceeded to help unload the horses for the escort to army headquarters. Later, when Cadwallader checked on Grant, he was gulping whiskey with the sutler.

John A. Rawlins

Grant left with the escort on a spirited horse named "Kangeroo." Being drunk, but a fine horseman, Grant tore off ahead of the others on a rough and winding road, kicking up dust and curses from roadside camps. Cadwallader finally caught up with a wobbly Grant and coaxed him to get some sleep near a thicket. The reporter summoned a trooper to go to headquarters and notify only John Rawlins of the situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Rawlins, Grant's assistant adjutant general, took special interest in Grant's drinking habits. Foote called Rawlins "Grant's conscience" when whiskey was concerned. The day before the binge, Rawlins discovered a case of wine in front of Grant's tent and saw him earlier accept a glass of wine from a doctor. Rawlins wrote Grant that night asking him to pledge himself not to drink or he would resign. The letter never reached Grant before his trip.

Cadwallader and Grant travelled the rest of the way via ambulance, reaching headquarters by midnight. Eyed by a seething Rawlins, Grant simply said goodnight and walked firmly to his tent as if nothing happened. Rawlins got the facts from Cadwallader, but never reported the incident to his superiors. Grant's two day binge would not be publicly known until 1955 when Cadwallader's memoirs were published.

Grant's drunkenness had no impact on his ability to take the pivotal city of Vicksburg on July 4th. In fact, when Abraham Lincoln was confronted by more stories of Grant's drinking, he declared if he could find the brand of whiskey Grant drinks, he would promptly distribute it to the rest of his generals.

Foote, Shelby, The Civil War: Fredericksburg to Meridian, Vintage: New York, 1986.

The copyright of the article A Drunk Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg in US Civil War is owned by William L. Wunder. Permission to republish A Drunk Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.