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The Union Christmas Dinner
The festive period embodies a time for togetherness and absolution, where we graciously welcome loved ones, no matter the distance they have traveled or any past grievances we might harbor. What truly matters is our shared kinship. In the December 31, 1864, issue of...
Thomas Nast’s Christmas Eve
Thomas Nast created “Christmas Eve” for Harper’s Weekly in which he portrayed a wife separated from her soldier husband on Christmas Eve 1862. The sketch shows a family split apart by the Civil War. It is also one of the earliest images of Santa, in a sleigh, being pulled by reindeer.
Serenading President Lincoln with Dixies Land
On April 10, 1865, the day after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, despite rain and mud there were some 3,000 people in the streets of Washington celebrating. Crowds serenaded President Lincoln throughout the day. “At length,” wrote a reporter for the...
The Election of 1864
Voting for President during the Civil War In November 1864 Abraham Lincoln was running for reelection against his former top Civil War general, the Democratic candidate, George B. McClellan. Interestingly, since the 1864 election occurred during the Civil War,...
Colorization of the Camp of Captain John Hoff in Gettysburg
Colorizing original photographs of the Camp of Captain John Hoff Recently I spent some time doing colorizations of a series of photographs of the Camp of Captain John Hoff. Captain Hoff was the Commissary of Subsistence during that time and was in charge of...
Saint Patricks Day During the Civil War
The following are a few letters from soldiers sent on St. Patrick's Day during the Civil War. Fort Sumter, S.C. March 17, 1861 Hon. D. F. Jamison, Executive Office, Department of War: Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the...
Happy Halloween
On October 31, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon by artist Henry Louis Stephens about the controversial campaign of Clement Vallandignham, a leading Peace Democrat or "Copperhead" who was running for governor of Ohio. Under the image it states: The...
Two New Gettysburg Rock Carving Videos
Family Fun Finding Rock Carvings in Gettysburg National Military Park The kids had the Monday after Easter off and it was a beautiful day so we packed a lunch and headed to Gettysburg for the day. While there, we did a lot of walking around Devil's Den, Little...