9. Abraham Lincoln asked what brand of whiskey Grant favored, so he could send some to his other generals
Whether Lincoln dismissed reports of Ulysses Grant’s heavy drinking with a quip as often reported is debated. The story first appeared around 1901. But what is undebatable is that there was no need to send whiskey to other generals in the United States Army at the time of the Civil War. In what was a hard-drinking age, many Union generals gained the reputation of exceedingly hard drinkers, far beyond the amounts supposedly quaffed by Grant. General Joseph Hooker’s headquarters was described by historian Charles Frances Adams, who was there as a Union officer, as a combination of a “barroom and a brothel”. Brigadier General James Ledlie allegedly spent the Battle of the Crater behind the lines, getting drunk while his division was annihilated by Confederate troops. Following an investigation, Ledlie resigned his commission.
Grant’s reputation as a bumbling drunk dogged him throughout the Civil War, and has followed him ever since. He did struggle with alcohol throughout his life, and personally recorded occasional occurrences of what in a later day became known as binge drinking. But there is nothing in the record which indicates he was ever drunk while engaged in a campaign. One story, printed thirty years after the war, claimed Grant kept a barrel of whiskey in his tent for his exclusive use while campaigning. No other source, not any of his generals, nor reporters of the time, nor official visitors, corroborates the claim. This despite many of his generals being rivals and later political enemies. Many historians in recent years have dissected evidence of Grant’s drinking and consider it no better or worse than most men of his day.