Whiskey Bombs
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Title |
Whiskey Bombs |
Subject |
Whiskey |
Transcript |
Whisky Bombs In the second year of the Civil War in August, in 1862, a Union fleet under the command of Lt. J.W. Kittredge sailed into Corpus Christi Bay, threatening the city. He was opposed by a makeshift Confederate force with two old cannons that had been used in the Texas Revolution. During the ensuing battle, Kittredge sent in a landing party of 30 men. It was beaten back by a cavalry charge. After the landing party was recovered, the ships moved out of range of the old Confederate cannon and proceeded to bombard the city, firing 400 to 500 shells. The battle lasted off and on for four days. Afterwards, people found unexploded cannon balls and shells all over town. With gunpowder in scarce supply, they tried to reclaim the powder inside the unexploded shells. To their amazement, they found the shells filled with what seemed to be whisky. Some thought it must have been poisoned, but after a few cautious sips they decided it was definitely good Kentucky bourbon. This was a mystery. A few weeks later, the Union commander, Lt. Kittredge, led a foray ashore and was captured. He was asked about the shells. He said he had had a barrel of whisky for his own use that disappeared. Sailors came off the dogwatch smelling of liquor, but the officers could never find where they'd hid it. The sailors, he said, must have emptied the shells of powder and refilled them, with whisky. During the bombardment, they were forced to fire their own whisky-filled shells at the town. The official records of the battle, Union and Confederate, don't mention this, but then, that's not the sort of thing that would get mentioned in official records. The story has been told in Corpus Christi since the Civil War. If true, the Yankee commander supplied the liquor for his own going away party. Murphy Givens: KEDT Radio Scripts |
Author |
Murphy Givens |
Publisher |
KEDT Radio |
Date |
March 28, 2003 |
Type |
Sound Recording |
Format |
WMA; Length 2 min. 12 sec. |
Language |
English |
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