One of the real memories of my great-grandfather John Roberts (7th Mississippi Infantry) handed down to us was that in his later years he would sometimes "pull a cork", as the old saying goes. Often times he would get a little too much and would go out with his shotgun or rifle and shoot at imaginary Yankees he would see at night. This has provided chuckles within the family now for over 100 years but it only makes me sad.

Only God knows what those old men heard and saw when they tried to close their eyes at night. I'm told, because of his health, Grandpa John quit the jug before he died. But, just in case he didn't I hope the good Lord overlooked his drinking to excess. After all, maybe it was just for medicinal purposes, as Granny Clampett would say :-)