Back to Work
After the army, Pemberton began his life-long struggle with substance abuse. The wounded soldier initially took morphine to relieve his pain, and he was almost immediately hooked. Sadly, he fell victim to the chemical as a coping mechanism for whatever mental illness and psychological ailments he was experiencing.
Photo by Everett Collection / Shutterstock
As soon as the smoke from the Civil War started to clear, America was focused on getting back to living. Pemberton was no exception. He got together with physician Austin Walker and expanded his lab. Originally, their idea was to create new products. They wanted to sell medical and photography supplies and even branched out into cosmetics. He developed the Sweet Southern Bouquet perfume, and it was a huge success.