Christmas 1864- Four Men Celebrate

One was a Union soldier, one a Confederate soldier, and two were Presidents. They all sought a brief respite on December 24th and December 25th, 1864, when, as best they could under their circumstances, and in their own way, they celebrated Christmas.  

 Elisha Hunt Rhodes, a Union soldier, was near Petersburg, Virginia, just outside Richmond, the Confederate Capital. He and his men were preparing for an assault on Richmond, but did not know when the orders might occur. However, if and when the order came, the men were organized, well supplied, and ready. The Confederate Army trenches were close enough to hear voices and an occasional crack of a rifle whenever some southern soldier would attempt a long shot, which was usually more disruptive than deadly. On Christmas Eve, two chorale groups of Union soldiers had come into Elisha’s area and sang Christmas carols and popular ballads. The food was plentiful, warm, and tasty by Army standards; and they had all of the coffee they wanted. His unit had constructed new tight tents, which kept out the wind and most of the cold. He wore a clean uniform and had a warm coat. On that Christmas morning, which was on Sunday, there was a brief service, but there was work to do, as they continued to improve their housing and water supply and to train for their coming mission.  Of Elisha’s four Christmases in the Union Army, Christmas 1864 was probably the most comfortable, and least dangerous (for now). And, as his letters home indicated, Elisha was becoming more confident that the Union would defeat the Confederacy within a few months and the war would end. And, perhaps, if he was lucky, he would get to go home.

 On December 24th and 25th, Sam Watkins, a young Confederate soldier, was near Nashville, Tennessee, actually not too far from his home. The weeks leading up to Christmas, 1864, had been fraught with deadly encounters against Union troops and several friends had recently been killed. He had no shelter, a threadbare coat, and their officers had ordered that no fires be built to prevent the Union batteries from determining their exact location. Food was sporadic, so the men were both cold and hungry. They too waited orders for an assault, but Sam was worried they lacked leadership since so many of their officers had been killed, or some wounded so badly they had been sent away from the front. Sam felt the troops were too dis-organized to be successful and worried the carnage, which was sure to follow, would not accomplish anything. Although he had mentioned Christmas earlier in the war, it must have been far from his mind as he huddled on a frozen hill those two days and nights in Tennessee. He wrote that he had lost hope of a Confederate victory and the dream of a Confederate nation, and he was unsure if he would ever see home again. In his four years in the Confederate Army, 1864 was likely his most miserable Christmas.

On December 24th and 25th, 1864, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was at the executive mansion in Richmond with a massive Union Army, including Elisha Rhodes, only a few miles away. While he would not have then admitted to even the possibility of defeat, he must have known the cause he championed was in trouble. He was receiving reports from his Generals that were not encouraging nor heartening as they spoke of retreats, entrenchments, and minimal supplies, not of victories. But at least he would spend Christmas 1864 surrounded by his wife, Varina, and their children. The mood was subdued in the Executive Mansion, as the inhabitants reflected on the solemnity of the times they faced. Because most of the Southern ports were controlled by Union forces in December 1864, the flow of goods was limited. Even agricultural supplies from the Shenandoah Valley, the so-called bread-basket of the South, were restricted and the citizens of Richmond were dealing with severe shortages. The cupboards of the Southern Executive Mansion, although not bare, had to be carefully managed to stretch the supplies. That Sunday Christmas morning the Davis family attended a worship service before returning to the Executive Mansion. There was a Christmas tree in the house and Mrs. Davis tried her best to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, especially for children. Mrs. Davis frequently devoted time to a local orphanage which housed children of soldiers killed in the war. These children were often deprived of even the basic necessities, and she was determined to give them at least one happy day. She gathered as many presents as the local ladies could muster, certainly some gave up gifts for their own children, and gave the gifts to the orphans. But Mrs. Davis wanted to lift the spirits of some adults too, so she invited many of the local young ladies, and as many young officers as could be excused from duty, to a dance on Christmas evening. Because there would not be an elaborate food and beverage array at this dance, she referred to it as a Starvation Party to make light of the circumstances. Jefferson Davis joined in the festivities, perhaps relieving some of stress he was certainly under. Christmas 1864, for Jefferson Davis, was to be the last with his family for several years. He would spend Christmas 1865 in a Union prison.

Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, had just been re-elected to a second term. The Washington White House was well stocked for the holidays, with plenty of food for dinners and receptions, The mood in the White House, and of its primary occupant, was on the upswing. On December 22, President Lincoln received word from General William T. Sherman that Savannah, Georgia, had surrendered, completing a Union march across that state, dividing the South, and securing the coastal ports in that area. The telegram to the President read “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah.” While there was no Christmas tree in the Lincoln White House (because visitors were prone to stealing decorations), there were evergreen wreaths and other festive decorations, and several formal receptions were scheduled over the holidays.  Lincoln knew that the war would not last much longer, the Confederacy would be defeated, the Union would be preserved, and slavery would soon be outlawed. (The Senate had already passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which would make slavery illegal, and he was prepared to press the House of Representatives on the issue.) His wife Mary, and two sons, Robert and Tad, were with him, adding to his joy at the occasion. The family attended a church service that morning and had dinner together that evening. (Lincoln, as usual, worked for a while in the afternoon.) With that in mind, 1864 was probably the closest to a “normal” Christmas for the Lincoln family during the four holidays of his Presidency. However, Abraham Lincoln would not see Christmas 1865.

Of these four men, only Sam Watkins and Elisha Hunt Rhodes, returned home to their families in 1865. Jefferson Davis, never having given up hope for a Confederate victory, was captured by Union troops in May 1865 as he tried to escape to Texas and fight on. He would be in prison for the next two years. Of the four, Abraham Lincoln was the only one who never had the chance to return home after the war.

For most of us, with our circumstances not nearly as perilous as what these four men and their families faced, we should also be able to embrace the Christmas spirit. So, as Elisha Rhodes, Sam Watkins, Jefferson Davis, and Abraham Lincoln might have said one hundred and fifty-nine years ago, “Merry Christmas!”