In May of 1864, a Union soldier known as Soldier Boy arrived in Corinth, Mississippi. He was carrying a canteen full of what he claimed was mothers' milk. He said that he had been given the milk by a woman who had recently lost her child and that it would keep him healthy and strong. The soldiers in his regiment were skeptical, but Soldier Boy drank the milk anyway.
It wasn't long before the other soldiers began to notice that something was wrong with Soldier Boy. He became increasingly agitated and paranoid, and soon started seeing things that weren't there. The other soldiers tried to calm him down, but it was no use. One night, Soldier Boy went completely insane and attacked one of his fellow soldiers with a knife. The man died from his injuries, and Soldier Boy was put on trial for murder.
At his trial, Soldier Boy claimed that the milk had made him crazy. The jury didn't believe him and found him guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out in September of 1864.