A Civil War Christmas

[Gypsy Heart]

"Ought it not be a Merry Christmas?

Even with all the sorrow that hangs, and will forever hang, over so many households; even while war still rages; even while there are serious questions yet to be settled - ought it not to be, and is it not, a merry Christmas?"
Harper's Weekly, December 26, 1863


Dec 27th 1864

Camp 4th Del Vol 3 Brg 2 Dev 3 Corps

Dear wife I will send you a few lines stating how we are I have bin down with the diarier for about a weak it has bin the most sevear that I hav ever ha but I feel better to day & I hav washed all of my cloaths & I borrowed some cloathes while mine are drying I cant write you mutch this time but if I keep wel I will try and write you a interesting leter some of those days we hav got houses built up wonce more but Christmas was a very dul day hear we have not had it yet but the war news is good we have had a despatch from G Shairman he has done more than we could of asked of him I hope this will find you all wel Samey is not very wel he had a cold we hav bin very mutch exposed but I dont want to write about You can sea the reason why I hav not wrote I send my love to all from you ever true and loving Husband

Levi McCormick

good by
send on your box
Jim sais we will have some soope



Excerpts from several letters I found online in reference to Christmas. The source websites are listed at the end.

On December 24, 1861, Captain Robert Goldthwaite Carter of the 22nd Mass. Vol. Inf. 4th U.S. Cavalry wrote:

"Christmas Eve, and I am on duty as officer of the day, but I am not on duty to-morrow. As much as I desire to see you all, I would not leave my company alone... ...I give my company a Christmas dinner to-morrow, consisting of turkey, oysters, pies, apples, etc.; no liquors."

* * * * *

On December 25, 1864, J. C. Williams, 14th Vermont Infantry

"This is Christmas, and my mind wanders back to that home made lonesome by my absence, while far away from the peace and quietude of civil life to undergo the hardships of camp, and may be the battlefield. I think of the many lives that are endangered, and hope that the time will soon come when peace, with its innumerable blessings, shall once more restore our country to happiness and prosperity."

* * * * *

John H. Brinton, a Major and Surgeon U.S.V. wrote:

"[1861] During the days preceding Christmas, I received some boxes from home, full of nice comfortable things, and the letter which came to me at that time, you may be sure, made me feel homesick. On Christmas night, I left for St. Louis as my teeth were troubling me, and greatly in need of the services of a dentist. I was fortunate in finding a good one, and in a day or two the necessary repairs were made."

* * * * *

From the Diary of An Enlisted Man, by Lawrence VanAlstyne
2nd Lieutenant, 90th United Sates Colored Infantry

December 24, 1863

"As to-morrow is Christmas we went out and made such purchases of good things as our purses would allow, and these we turned over to George and Henry, for safe keeping and for cooking on the morrow."

* * * * *

From the diary of Private Robert A. Moore, a Confederate soldier.

Tuesday, Dec 24th, 1861, camp near Swan's.

"This is Christmas Eve but seems but little like it to me"

Wednesday, Dec. 25th, 1861, camp near Swan's.

"This is Christmas & and very dull Christmas it has been to me. Had an egg-nog to-night but did not enjoy it much as we had no ladies to share it with us."

* * * * *

From the diary of Robert Watson of Key West, Florida.

December 25, 1862 in Tampa, FL as an orderly sergeant of Co. K, 7th Florida Regt.

"Christmas day and I was in bed all day from chills and fever. I ate nothing and as there is no liquor in the place of course I drank nothing."

December 25, 1863 at Dalton, Georgia after action at Chickamauga

"Christmas day and a very dull one but I find a tolerable good dinner. I had one drink of whiskey in the morning. There was some serenading last night but I took no part in it for I did not feel merry as my thoughts were of home..."

December 25, 1864 at Charleston, S.C. following his transfer to the Navy

"Christmas day. Turned out at 6 AM, very cold. We were ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to leave at moments warning... ...This ends Christmas day. The poorest I ever spent."

* * * * *

In a letter to his sister Anna Simpson, Tally Simpson wrote:

Dec. 25th

My dear sister,

"This is Christmas Day. The sun shines feeble through a thin cloud, the air is mild and pleasant, a gentle breeze is making music through the leaves of the lofty pines that stand near our bivouac. All is quiet and still and that very stillness recalls some sad and painful thoughts. The day, one year ago, how many thousand families, gay and joyous, celebrating Merry Christmas, drinking health to absent members of their family and sending upon the wings of love and affection long, deep, and sincere wishes for their safe return to the loving ones at home, but today are clad in the deepest mourning in memory to some lost and loved member of their circle..."

"When will this war end? Will another Christmas roll around and find us all wintering in camp? Oh! That peace may soon be restored to our young but dearly beloved country and that we may all meet again in happiness."

* * * * *

From the Civil War diary of General Josiah Gorgas - 1864:

"December 26th A despondent Christmas has just passed, yet people contrived to eat hearty and good Christmas dinners. The soldier unfortunately have not even meat, and have had none for several days. The Commissary General has singlely failed in his duties; while there is plenty of food in Georgia there is none here. There is no sufficient excuse for this. The food must be brought here, and the means to so provided and organized

 

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[Gypsy Heart]

Until We Meet Again

Jackson's Headquarters
Winchester, Virginia
Winter 1862

 

[Jeffro]

Excellent post, as always Gypsy.

It's somehow both eerie and heartwarming at the same time to see these words as they wrote them.

 

[civilman1]

I agree with Ole' Blinky....These boy's had it rough back then,not only being away from home but some of the element's they had to endure especially in the winter...I respect everyone of them.Cool post Gypsy!!

 

[stefen]

Great post...think of how similar our troops will celebrate this year...

 

[stevesno]

Great post...think of how similar our troops will celebrate this year...

Although it is hard to be away from the family the troops of today lack nothing compared to the troops of the Civil War. While it has been since 2004 that I was in the Middle East at that time we were fed steak, lobster, or the traditional Christmas feast. Presents were sent by the thousands to us by people whom we would never meet. Classrooms at schools adopted us. Celebrities entertained us. Our camp was sent all of the traditional Christmas decorations.
Don't get me wrong! We would all rather have been home. But the military and citizens of the U.S.A. made it as painless as possible....Steve

 

[PBK]

This thread brings to mind "Confederate Christmas"...

http://home.att.net/~smerela/confedcmas.html

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Christmas During the Civil War


The irony and bitterness of celebrating Christmas during wartime is poignantly described in the words to Longfellow’s poem “Christmas Bells.” Longfellow’s deep despair during the Civil War started in 1861 following the untimely death of his wife Fanny. On the first Christmas following Fanny’s death, Longfellow wrote: “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays, A year later on Christmas day 1862, Longfellow wrote in his journal: “A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” In 1863, Longfellow found out that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded in battle. His deep personal despair was reflective of the despair and loss suffered by so many Americans, both in the North and in the South, during the long, terrible Civil War. Shortly after a visit to his son Charles, who was still struggling to recover from his war injuries, on Christmas Day, 1864, Longfellow penned the words to his poem, “Christmas Bells.”, which later was put to music know as “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”


“I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Even more reflective of the awful despair felt by many were Longfellow’s original stanzas 4 and 5 which are not commonly included in the modern hymnals:

“Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Though the Civil War literally tore the country in two and brought pain and suffering of all kinds to American families, many of our modern Christmas traditions first found their acceptance with American families during the Civil War. One of the earliest depictions of Santa Claus, with his sleigh and reindeers, and Santa crawling down a chimney is found in a Thomas Nest drawing appearing in the January 1863 edition of Harper’s Weekly. Christmas trees , gift giving, caroling and Christmas feasts seemed to be firmly established as part of American culture during the Civil War period.

While introduced much earlier by European immigrants, the Christmas tree as a family Christmas tradition was popularized by illustrators in national weeklies. The Christmas tree, which became the center of the Christmas festivities, was decorated with strings of pine cones, popcorn or dried fruit, colored paper and silver foil. Soldiers, longing for home, would use Christmas trees to bring some cheer to the frontlines. One Union soldier from New Jersey in a letter home commented: “In order to make it look much like Christmas as possible, a small tree was stuck up in front of our tents, decked off with hard tack and pork, in lieu of cakes and oranges, etc.”

The singing of Christmas carols was also a popular Christmas tradition both a home and on the front. The most popular carols included: “Silent Night”, “Deck the Halls”, “Away in a Manger” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”.

Even doing wartime, the Christmas message of charity and love motivates soldiers otherwise engaged in the ugliest of mankind’s activities to take care of the poor and needy. On Christmas Day, 1864, after General Sherman’s capture of Savannah, Georgia, 90 soldiers from Michigan loaded several wagons full of food and other necessities to distribute to impoverished Southerners living outside of Savannah. To add to the holiday cheer, the soldiers fashioned branches to the ears of the mules to create “reindeer antlers”. The Christmas spirit prevailed and the beneficiaries of the Christmas charity were for a brief moment able to enjoy the Christmas season.



Early in the war, the soldiers might have enjoyed a more sumptuous Christmas feast. One Union officer wrote the following on December 24, 1861: "Christmas Eve, and I am on duty as officer of the day, but I am not on duty to-morrow. As much as I desire to see you all, I would not leave my company alone...I give my company a Christmas dinner to-morrow, consisting of turkey, oysters, pies, apples, etc.; no liquors." As the war wore on and the resources on both sides of the battle lines were in short supply, the Christmas meals of the soldiers were less than sumptuous. One Confederate soldier recorded the following on Christmas Day: “Had hard Tack soaked in cold water and then fried in pork Greece [sic]. Fried in a canteen, split into[sic] by putting into the fire & melting the sodder[sic] off. We pick them up on the field left by other soldiers, also had coffee & pork.”


The home front was not much better as the war dragged on. One of the most charming, yet sobering descriptions of the hardships that impact Christmas celebrations is the following story of a Southern parent’s attempt to reduce the Christmas expectation of their children:


"I have written so much that it is now after 9 o'clock and yet I have said nothing of Turner's and Mary Bell's party which we gave them last week in lieu of the Santa Claus presents. Mary Bell has been told that Santa Claus has not been able to run the blockade and has gone to war--Yet at this late hour when I went upstairs Thursday night of the party I found that the trusting faith of childhood they had hung their little socks and stockings in case Santa Claus did come. I had given the subject no thought whatever, but invoking Santa Claus aid I was enabled when their little eyes opened to enjoy their pleasure to find cake and money in their socks."

Through it all, Americans, both in the North and South, found hope in the eternal Christmas message of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men”.

http://www.premiumchristmastree.com/a39/Christmas-During-the-Civil-War/article_info.html