A Civil War Christmas at the Drum Barracks Museum
| Submitted by david d on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 21:54 |
 (Click on the above photograph to go to all pictures) "In order to make it look much like Christmas as possible, a small tree was stuck up in front of our tent, decked off with hard tack and pork, in lieu of cakes and oranges, etc" Alfred Bellard 5th New Jersey "...Christmas Day! A day which was made for smiles,not sighs - for laughter, not tears - for the hearth, not prison." Lt. Col. Frederic Cavada Libby Prison, Richmond The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum held their 10th Annual Civil War Christmas December 5th and 6th, 2009. The Drum Barracks are the last remaining original Civil War era military Facility in the Los Angeles area and is located in the community of Wilmington, California. There was also an exhibition of Lincolniana to commemorate the 200th anniversary of our 16th president. This included “Lincoln and California” which chronicled Lincoln’s interest in visiting our state and “Lincoln in Everyday Life” showed the prevalence of the image and name of Lincoln which permeates our life. 
We find many of our Christmas customs rooted in the 19th century and they seem to have matured during the violence of the American Civil War. Christmas was largely a religious and community celebration of prayer which was strongly influenced by Puritan simplicity until the 19th century. In the early part of this century there was a revival of the holidays as well as the publication of Dickens, “A Christmas Carol.” Christmas was becoming a family centered holiday based on generosity or gift giving.
Many of the Civil War era artists, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, and Alfred Waud, provided the visual clues to the celebration of Christmas. Familial anxiety and fears tended to pull strongly during periods of family separation. Christmas gifts of clothing and food did boost the morale of the recipients as well as provide a bridge to home. Setting up small Christmas trees in front of the tent mimicked the Tree at home. Thomas Nast not only popularized our physical view of Santa Claus but also placed his home in the “North Pole” in order that “no nation could claim him as their own.” During 1863 Southern parents prepared their children that Santa Claus may not “make it through the blockade” to deliver presents. On Christmas Day of 1864, Ninety Michigan men and their captain loaded wagons with food and supplies and delivered them to the destitute civilians in the Georgia countryside. The “Union Santas” even tied tree branches to the heads of the mules. The year of 1865 was tumultuous and filled with change: Lincoln was assassinated and the hunt and trial took the nation’s interest till mid-summer. The War had ended and the 18th Amendment which abolished slavery was passed on December 18th. Both soldiers and civilians were ready to be with their families. Commerce once again flowed South and goods filled Northern shops. The final verse of a poem “By the Christmas Hearth” published in the Christmas edition of Harper's Weekly reflected the sentiments of many: Bring holly, rich with berries red, And bring the sacred mistletoe; Fill high each glass, and let hearts With kindliest feelings flow; So sweet it seems at home once more To sit with those we hold most dear, And keep absence once again To keep the Merry Christmas here. Rawlings, Kevin. We Were Marching on Christmas Day: A History and Chronicle of Christmas During the Civil War. Linthicum, Maryland: Toomey Press, 1996 |
