Christmas In The Field

[War Horse]

I thought it might be fun to discribe our favorite Civil War Christmas Stories.

After a very disappointing Western Thearter campaign Longstreet marched his men to winter camp 1864.

Three days before Christmas the Confederates, Poorly clad, scantily fed, and many of them barefooted, in the description of an officer. were settling into winter quarters south of the Holston River around Russellville, Morristown, and Rogersville, along the tracks of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad. They had their "Shanties" built by Christmas and had foraged through the country side for their holiday meals. Although an officer thought the region "a bleak, desolate, inhospitable country,"the soldiers found it for the present brimming with foodstuffs and "mooonshine." On Christmas Day they dined on turkey, chicken, ham, molasses cake, gingerbread and cornpone. It was a welcome feast for men who had been hungry since they had left Tyner's Station. Moxley Sorel remembered the troops as "happy and cheerful," despite the shortages of winter clothing and shoes. Ample supplies of oak and hickory logs warmed the shanties, but winter had only begun. .

It seems the soldiers of the 1st Corp's had plenty of Chistmas spirit dispite the hardships they had endured over a very long war.

Please share your Civil War Christmas Stories if you would like too

Source Jeffry Wert.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

"the soldiers found it for the present brimming with foodstuffs and "moonshine."t

Great story.

 

[Lost Cause]

Thank you for posting this War Horse.

 

[FarawayFriend]

Wonderful story, thank you. Should remind us that Christmas is more than shopping and dining.

 

[donna]

Thought bring this thread back up. Maybe other stories could be added.

 

[Karacivilwarchild]

Great story

 

[JohnW.]

The most famous Christmas gift of the war was sent by telegram from William Tecumseh Sherman to Abraham Lincoln on December 22, 1864. "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 100 and 50 guns and plenty of ammunition, also about 25,000 bales of cotton." The gift, of course, wasn't the guns, the ammunition or the cotton, but the beginning of the end of the Civil War.

 

[nitrofd]

It is not really a Christmas Story but there were a lot of snowball fights during the war.

 

[Waterloo50]

I don't know too much about this story but it sounds great.
After General William Sherman captured Savannah in December of 1864, his soldiers dressed their horses up like reindeer by attaching branches to their headgear and delivered food and supplies to hungry families in Georgia.

 

[FarawayFriend]

I just wanted to post Varina Davis's account of Christmas in the White House of the Confederacy, but a quick search told me that @donna had found it years ago. So I'll post the link to her thread instead:
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/christmas-in-the-confederate-white-house-by-varina-davis.77986/

 

[Yankeedave]

Love the art!

 

[kevikens]

I don't know too much about this story but it sounds great.
After General William Sherman captured Savannah in December of 1864, his soldiers dressed their horses up like reindeer by attaching branches to their headgear and delivered food and supplies to hungry families in Georgia.

I don't know about England but I can tell you with metaphysical certitude that this horse's life expectancy in December (deer season) could be measured in minutes near where I live.

 

[AUG]

Pvt. Frank H. Foote (48th Mississippi Infantry, Harris' Brigade) recalled in his reminiscences how Christmas was celebrated in the trenches at Petersburg:

Christmas with its joys to some, and sorrows to many, rolled around. This was the fourth Christmas from loved ones. When we set out for the war with light hearts, we never dreamed that a Christmas would be spent away from home. It was to be a pleasure trip we thought; we will see something of the world; aye, we did too, but not the way our youthful dreams had pictured it. This Christmas of the dark, dreary days of 1864, is fraught with the memory of probably the most gigantic undertaking of the kind ever thought of. The good citizens of Richmond and Petersburg would give Lee's army a Christmas dinner. Contributions were freely given, though the people were as poor as we of the army, almost; provisions were extraordinarily high, even in coin. Fabulous prices were paid; but the project was carried through. Army wagons were utilized to bring the "goodies" to camp; and we patiently awaited. The third day rolled around; and we were drawn up in line to receive our share of turkeys, geese, ducks, mutton, etc. naturally expected from what had been seen and heard. When our turn came, one goose, some mutton, and about forty loaves of bread, fell to our lot. The problem to solve was how to dispose of the goose and little bit of mutton. The goose was voted to the officers of the Field and Staff. The mutton to the line officers—by the way very few of them left—and the bread was sliced up and divided among the rank and file. The bread was eaten and relished with jokes. A hearty "here's to you" attested the humor of the matter. A too lavish hand at the outset had fed abundantly the beginning of the issuance, and thus it did not hold out.

 

[FarawayFriend]

Pvt. Frank H. Foote (48th Mississippi Infantry, Harris' Brigade) recalled in his reminiscences how Christmas was celebrated in the trenches at Petersburg:

Christmas with its joys to some, and sorrows to many, rolled around. This was the fourth Christmas from loved ones. When we set out for the war with light hearts, we never dreamed that a Christmas would be spent away from home. It was to be a pleasure trip we thought; we will see something of the world; aye, we did too, but not the way our youthful dreams had pictured it. This Christmas of the dark, dreary days of 1864, is fraught with the memory of probably the most gigantic undertaking of the kind ever thought of. The good citizens of Richmond and Petersburg would give Lee's army a Christmas dinner. Contributions were freely given, though the people were as poor as we of the army, almost; provisions were extraordinarily high, even in coin. Fabulous prices were paid; but the project was carried through. Army wagons were utilized to bring the "goodies" to camp; and we patiently awaited. The third day rolled around; and we were drawn up in line to receive our share of turkeys, geese, ducks, mutton, etc. naturally expected from what had been seen and heard. When our turn came, one goose, some mutton, and about forty loaves of bread, fell to our lot. The problem to solve was how to dispose of the goose and little bit of mutton. The goose was voted to the officers of the Field and Staff. The mutton to the line officers—by the way very few of them left—and the bread was sliced up and divided among the rank and file. The bread was eaten and relished with jokes. A hearty "here's to you" attested the humor of the matter. A too lavish hand at the outset had fed abundantly the beginning of the issuance, and thus it did not hold out.

A direct descendant of Frank H. Foote is a co-member!
I bet @48th Miss. will be delighted that you found his ancestor's report and liked it!!

 

[jay gale]

that's a beautiful picture, a great piece of art.

 

[bankerpapaw]

Those were some very tough men back then - - - both Yanks and Rebs.

 

[JohnW.]

It is beautiful...it also conveys the feeling of what it was like for the soldiers in winter quarters. Cold and lonely.

 

[Drew]

My favorite Civil War Christmas story is from Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1862. The Armies separated by the Rappahannock River were taunting one another, until then.

On Christmas Eve, Confederates signaled to Union soldiers an invitation, to dinner on their side of the river. Off went the Boys in Blue, to share a meal, a drink and a smoke. It was a grand time and they were all put quietly back across when it was over. On Christmas Day, Union soldiers returned the invitation and brought Confederates across the river, again to share a meal, a drink and a smoke.

Trouble erupted when a Union Duty Officer found Confederates in his camp, panicked and had them all arrested as Prisoners of War.

The hosts were of course terribly alarmed and went up their chain of command to resolve the issue. They ultimately wound up in front of George Meade, who heard them out.

General Meade, under the circumstances, ordered the immediate release of the prisoners and had them put back across the river. He didn't punish anyone but put the word out this wasn't to happen again.

Such is the spirit of Christmas.

 

[AUG]

A direct descendant of Frank H. Foote is a co-member!
I bet @48th Miss. will be delighted that you found his ancestor's report and liked it!!

Yeah, we've talked before on the forum. His ancestor's reminiscences make for good reading, full of interesting details.

More can be read here: http://www.beyondthecrater.com/reso...-clarion-jackson-ms-petersburg-harris-brig-1/

 

[Karen Lips]

My favorite Civil War Christmas story is from Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1862. The Armies separated by the Rappahannock River were taunting one another, until then.

On Christmas Eve, Confederates signaled to Union soldiers an invitation, to dinner on their side of the river. Off went the Boys in Blue, to share a meal, a drink and a smoke. It was a grand time and they were all put quietly back across when it was over. On Christmas Day, Union soldiers returned the invitation and brought Confederates across the river, again to share a meal, a drink and a smoke.

Trouble erupted when a Union Duty Officer found Confederates in his camp, panicked and had them all arrested as Prisoners of War.

The hosts were of course terribly alarmed and went up their chain of command to resolve the issue. They ultimately wound up in front of George Meade, who heard them out.

General Meade, under the circumstances, ordered the immediate release of the prisoners and had them put back across the river. He didn't punish anyone but put the word out this wasn't to happen again.

Such is the spirit of Christmas.

Could you provide some sources for this Christmas story? I would like to read more about it.