Thanksgiving was not always a national holiday. However, on October 3, 1863, in the very midst of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln Issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving to set aside the last Thursday in November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." Thus, Thanksgiving became the national holiday we know and love. The document was originally hand written by Secretary of State William Seward and sold a year later to benefit Union troops.
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Diaries kept by soldiers tell us a lot about the food troops were served on Thanksgiving. Because rations were few and far between on the battle field, organizations collected donations of food.
One soldier wrote that the Sanitary Commission put together a meal consisting of turkey, chicken, and apples. However, it was a day late. The soldier wrote that "it isn’t the turkey, but the idea that we care for."
In 1864, a New Yorker named George W. Blount led a civilian campaign to bring a Thanksgiving meal to every Union soldier stationed in Virginia. The goal soon grew to reaching as many soldiers as possible. Newspapers, charities, food sellers, and shippers all pledged their support. Organizations across the Union cooked feasts for their state army posts and veterans hospitals. The Soldiers Aid of Norwich, Connecticut organized the shipment of 215 turkeys, 199 pies, and a long list of other goods to Connecticut regiments fighting in the James River and Shenandoah Valley. Steamers delivered food to sailors along the coast of Dixie. And more than 300,000 pounds of poultry and other festive ingredients were sent to the Army of the Potomac. According to the many surviving letters and diary entries, the Thanksgiving of 1864 was a great success and the majority of the shipments reached their destination. When Sherman’s army reached Savannah on December 10th, Union ships delivered to them the Thanksgiving dinner they had missed during their March to the Sea.
Sadly, the Confederate forces did not fare as well due to the Union blockade and lack of supplies. However, that is a story for another time. My goal for today is to focus on the good memories of Thanksgiving in the Civil War.
As a special treat, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Chips, straight from my Civil War Recipe Box.
- Cut slices from a high-colored pumpkin, and cut the slices into chips about the thickness of a dollar.
- Wash them, dry them thoroughly, and weigh them against an equal weight of sugar.
- Add to each pound of sugar half a pint of lime or lemon-juice.
- Boil and skim it, then add the pumpkin.
- When half boiled, take the slices out of the syrup and let them cool.
- Return them and boil until the pumpkin becomes clear.
- Peel the lemons or limes very thin and boil until tender.
- Add to the chips when nearly done.
Leave a comment down below with your opinion on the dish. And maybe even a picture of it.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving y'all :)
Until next time.
XOXO, Kate
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