Christmas in Wartime
Learn more about how Americans experienced the Christmas holiday during the wars that defined the United States.
Explore Christmas in Wartime
Christmas During the Civil War
By the Civil War, most of today's familiar Christmas trappings, Christmas carols, gift-giving, and tree decorating were already in place.
Christmas Bells
The story behind the beloved Christmas carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at the height of the Civil...
Christmas on the Rappahannock
There was no worse time to be a soldier than the dead of winter. Far from home and freezing cold, the enlisted men of the Union and Confederate armies...
Christmas at Richmond’s Libby Prison
Federico Fernández Cavada describes his holiday experience as a prisoner of war in December 1863. Hear more from Cavada, as he provides immense...
Christmas in the Confederate White House
Varina Davis , wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis , wrote this article describing how the Davis family spent the Christmas of 1864 in the...
Christmas Night of '62
A poem by Confederate soldier William Gordon McCabe giving his thoughts on Christmas Night 1862