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 decoration were already in place.

Civil War | Article

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 Eve" Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1863

Civil War | Primary Source

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...

Civil War | Primary Source

Christmas at Richmond’s Libby Prison

Christmas! At that name, what pleasant visions come thronging to the prisoner’s mind, visions of home and the hearth. —of mince pies, plum-puddings...

Civil War | Primary Source