A Civil War soldier from Pittston, Pennsylvania, writing under a penname, sent an incredible letter to his hometown newspaper just after Christmas 1862. In it, he described his unit’s holiday in the forts around the Union capital and how his unit heard of the US Army’s disaster at Fredericksburg two weeks earlier.
Fort Lincoln, Washington, D.C.
December 26, 1862
Messrs. Editors: Christmas has come and gone – not the home Christmas, but the soldier’s Christmas.
You may think this a distinction without a difference, but were the reality yours, methinks you would miss the chime of the church bell and the greetings of the loved ones at home, to say nothing, vulgarly speaking, of the ‘good grub,’ more than imagination conceives. Perhaps a short description of the manner in which we passed the day may not prove uninteresting to your many readers.
The numerous tents forming the camp were gaily decorated with evergreens and cedar boughs, evincing in unmistakable language the spirit that predominated in the bosoms of the various wreaths and caricatures that adorned the different tents. Nothing of special moment occurred until after dinner, when the first piece on the regular programme was enacted, viz: a ‘sack race.’
Three men, enclosed in sacks, reaching from the neck to the bottom of the feet, were the actors – the distance to be run was 150 yards, for a prize of $2. At the word ‘go’ the three made a desperate attempt for the lead, and such a scrambling, falling down, and getting up, you ‘never did see.’ A member of Company F was the victor, after a sharply contested and extremely animating race.
Next in order came the feat of blindfolded men wheeling a wheel-barrow at a mark. This was hugely amusing.
A member of our Company, known in camp by the euphonious appellation [nickname] of Napoleon Bonaparte, succeeded in winning the 2nd prize of $1. Foot racing and horse racing concluded the amusements of the day. In the evening, fiddling, dancing, and singing was all the go, and a merry time we had…
How sad must have been the intelligence of the cutting up of Captain Flagg’s Company [at the Battle of Fredericksburg] to the people of Pittston. When it became known to us that the Regiment [142nd Pennsylvania] was engaged in the battle, anxious eyes scanned the lists of killed and wounded, eager to learn the fate of the brave boys who started out under Major Bradley.
It was with profound sorrow, I assure you, that we read the tale of blood, and ascertained beyond doubt that many friends had fallen – some to rise no more and others maimed for life…
The tidings of our reverses at Fredericksburg cast a gloom over the spirits of all, but ‘never despair’ is the watchword, and all are ready to ‘pick the flints and at ’em again.’
– Soldier from Pittston, Pennsylvania, writing under the pen name “BATTERY” in a letter to the Pittston Gazette. The soldier served in Company M, 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, a unit that was stationed in Washington until 1864
(Image: Fort Lincoln and a heavy artillery unit at drill – Library of Congress)
Read more stories about Christmas during the Civil War
Four Christmases – Holiday excerpts from Henry Keiser’s Civil War diary
Golden-tinged memories of Christmas Eve recalled in the dark days of the Civil War – 1861
Christmas 1861 – Robert Gould Shaw’s Holiday Letter From Frederick, Maryland
Subscribe to the latest from Jake Wynn – Public Historian
Enter your email below to receive the newest stories.