March 1, 2022 ▸ Classic

A Sofa King Classic: The Eggnog Riots

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In this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look back in time and talk about the little-known but awesome Christmas mutiny at West Point Military Academy known as the Eggnog Riots. On Christmas Eve back in 1826, roughly 90 students at this military school got loaded on spiked eggnog and caused problems. Major problems. They tore up buildings, threatened lives, shot guns at people, and even hit people with logs! What lead to this gross dereliction of military decorum? You might say whiskey (and you’d be right), but there were other ingredients as well.

To begin with, West Point was a ramshackle school that let anyone in, and after a bad couple of wars, Congress funded it to become the bastion of officer training it is today. The man who did this was Sylvanus Thayer. Aside from being considered the father of West Point (and sounding very much like someone who would battle Harry Potter), he was also a harsh disciplinarian. He created draconic rules that included a zero tolerance no-alcohol and tobacco policy, and he whipped the cadets into shape by giving them virtually no freedoms. They couldn’t leave campus; they couldn’t cook food. And did I mention that they couldn’t drink?

So, the year of his liquor ban, the cadets decided to have a wee party, and they paid a sentinel to look the other way while they crept across the Hudson River and bought some whiskey. Five gallons or so. On Xmas eve, they started drinking their heavily spiked Eggnog, and the Eggnog Riots were born.

Much of the mayhem involves a military history instructor who kept creeping in on the parties to break them up. He arrested Jefferson Davis (yes, the guy who went on to become the president of the Confederacy), and we talk about Davis’ drunken youth quite a bit. After a lot of whiskey-fueled dickery, the professor finally started to break up the party in earnest, and the cadets decided to arm themselves with blades and pistols and kill him for ruining their fun (like you do). And the Eggnog Riots were off and running.

What happened next in the Eggnog Riot was a night of madness. They hit another officer with a log and left him unconscious in a stair well; they ran around brandishing swords and pistols. They smashed windows, tore about the dorm, and readied themselves for war against the Army soldiers they thought were coming.

So, how did the participants in the Eggnog Riots try to kill the professor and what went wrong in the attempt? What kept Jefferson Davis from getting court-martialed? How many students ended up getting arrested? Why did they tear down the dorm that hosted the party, and how was the new dorm designed so this would never happened again? Listen, laugh, learn.

Good Article on It: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/egg-nog-its-all-fun-and-games-until-someone-starts-a-holiday-riot-180949281/#dShz66KYUWk6APy1.99