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Thanksgiving in 1865

Thanksgiving in 1865

The following woodcut by Winslow Homer depicts the inaugural celebration of Thanksgiving as an official national holiday in the aftermath of the Civil War. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a nationally recognized holiday, marking this...

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Popular Songs of the Civil War

Popular Songs of the Civil War

Soldiers in both armies had their own favorite songs to sing and listen to. Sometimes they sang while marching to keep up their spirits. Union soldiers liked patriotic and sentimental songs. The Battle Cry of Freedom was a Union favorite. Some other...

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Civil War Field Music

Field music was the backbone of the armies during the Civil War.  Field music was made up of fifers, drummers, and buglers and their job was to use their instruments to communicate orders to the troops.  Their job was to regulate a soldier's life...

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Dealing with the Dead

Dealing with the Dead

The American Civil War was the bloodiest struggle in American history and the estimated 620,000 deaths of soldiers between 1861 and 1865 are roughly equivalent to the combined American casualties in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Spanish...

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Embalming the Dead

Embalming the Dead

 Even though embalming has been a common practice since the time of ancient Egypt, it did not become popular in the United States until the Civil War. There was a need to preserve their remains for the voyage because so many troops died distant from...

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