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Who really said it

I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army

Not Lincoln — he denied it, and named the original Unknown first printed anonymously, 18 September 1863
Disputed Free to reuse

The story — a delegation demands Grant’s removal as a drunkard, and Lincoln asks what brand he drinks so he can send a barrel to the rest — first appears as an anonymous press anecdote in the New York Herald of 18 September 1863. Lincoln was asked about it directly and denied it, saying it would be very good if he had said it, but he did not, and supposing it was charged to him “to give it currency.” He then named the original: an older story about King George and General Wolfe.

Last verified 20 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army” It would be very good if he had said it, but he did not. —Abraham Lincoln, denying the whiskey anecdote (recorded by Thomas T. Eckert, published 1882). The anecdote itself is anonymous, first printed 18 September 1863.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Abraham Lincoln. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

Free to use, including in commercial and paid presentations — no permission or licence needed.

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In context

Evoking the world of Abraham Lincoln — 16th President of the United States. Theme: "I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

First printing
New York Herald, 18 September 1863 — anonymous
Lincoln's denial
Recorded by Maj. Thomas T. Eckert; published 1882
The older story
King George on General Wolfe: ‘I wish he would bite some of my other Generals’
Author
Unknown

It would be very good if he had said it, but he did not. Lincoln's own denial

Lincoln’s reply when asked directly, as recorded by Eckert. It is unusual to have a subject on the record denying a quotation attributed to him — and rarer still for him to supply the original.

Quote Investigator — the 1863 anecdote and Lincoln's denial

How we traced it

  • The anecdote’s first known printing is the New York Herald, 18 September 1863 — unsigned, unsourced, and attributed to no witness Quote Investigator ↗.
  • Major Thomas T. Eckert, who ran the War Department telegraph office and saw Lincoln almost daily, asked him about it. Lincoln said he had heard the story before, that it would be very good if he had said it but he did not, and that it was probably charged to him to give it currency. Eckert’s account was published in 1882 Wikiquote, disputed ↗.
  • Lincoln also identified the ancestor: complaints that General Wolfe was mad drew the royal reply, ‘Well, I wish he would bite some of my other Generals then.’ That he knew the story beforehand is independently corroborated — Admiral Dahlgren’s memoir records Lincoln using it in May 1862, more than a year before the whiskey version appeared the chain ↗.
Public domain

Free to reuse. The originating text is an anonymous 1863 newspaper anecdote, and the Eckert account was published in 1882 — both long in the public domain, as is anything Lincoln actually wrote. There is no rights holder and no permission to seek; the only obligation is accuracy about who said what. This is not legal advice.

Fact-check

The attribution problem

Very few misattributions can be answered with the subject’s own denial. This one can — and Lincoln went further, identifying the older story the joke had been lifted from.

Denied by Lincoln on the record

Asked directly by a man who saw him daily, Lincoln said he had heard it, that it would be very good if he had said it but he did not, and that it was probably attributed to him to give it currency the denial ↗.

King George on General Wolfe older joke

Lincoln named it himself: told Wolfe was mad, the king replied that he wished Wolfe would bite his other generals. Dahlgren’s memoir shows Lincoln using that story in May 1862 — before the whiskey version existed.

‘Tell me what brand of whiskey Grant drinks’ no 19th-century source

The form most often quoted today has no nineteenth-century printing at all, and the later detail naming a specific brand has no evidence whatsoever. A denied anecdote has kept accreting details for 160 years.

Not Lincoln — he denied it and named the older King George story behind it. The anecdote first appeared anonymously in the New York Herald on 18 September 1863 full trail ↗.

Context

Why it resonates

It is a perfect political anecdote: the president defends the general who wins over the generals who complain, and does it with a joke rather than an argument. That it is denied has never slowed it down.

The underlying fact is true, which is why the story sticks. Lincoln did back Grant against his critics — but he did it in writing, plainly, after Vicksburg: ‘I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you were right, and I was wrong.’

"It would be very good if he had said it, but he did not." — Lincoln, on this quote.

The record, 1862 to 1882

May 1862: Dahlgren records Lincoln telling the King George / Wolfe story about another general.

13 July 1863: Lincoln writes to Grant after Vicksburg — ‘you were right, and I was wrong.’

18 September 1863: the whiskey anecdote appears anonymously in the New York Herald.

1882: Eckert’s account of Lincoln’s denial is published.

Later: a 19th-century theory crediting the joke to a humourist’s 1864 book does not fit — the newspaper printing predates it by a year.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Leadership Truth

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Find Out What Brand of Whiskey Grant Drinksquoteinvestigator.com

The 1863 first printing, Lincoln’s denial via Eckert, the King George antecedent, and the 1862 Dahlgren corroboration.
Abraham Lincoln — Wikiquote (disputed)en.wikiquote.org

The Eckert/Plum entry recording Lincoln’s denial in his own words.
Lincoln to Grant, 13 July 1863quod.lib.umich.edu

What Lincoln actually wrote in defence of Grant — in his own hand, after Vicksburg.

Popularly credited author

Why it gets pinned on Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

1809–1865 · 16th President of the United States

Abraham Lincoln was a famously good storyteller, which is exactly why so many stories became his. Wit attributed to Lincoln gains authority and loses its need for a source. He was aware of the mechanism in his own lifetime — when asked about this very anecdote, he supposed it had been charged to him precisely in order to give it currency.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

“…send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army.” New York Herald, 18 September 1863. Anonymous; denied by Lincoln, per Thomas T. Eckert in William R. Plum, The Military Telegraph During the Civil War (1882).

MLA (9th ed.)

“Barrel of Whiskey Anecdote.” New York Herald, 18 Sept. 1863. Author unknown.

APA (7th ed.)

Barrel of whiskey anecdote. (1863, September 18). New York Herald. (Author unknown)

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘send a barrel of this whiskey to every general in the army’?” Last verified 20 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-will-send-a-barrel-of-this-wonderful-whiskey-to-every

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