Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 731

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published December 26, 2013 at 1:14 PM CST

December 25, 1863, the third Christmas Day of the Civil War in America. In a report Union Naval Commander James Strong noted that he arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande River aboard the USS Monongahela on Christmas Day, 1863 to discover some 60 vessels anchored in nearby Mexican waters.

He noted that most of the ships were there to land goods in Mexico for the Confederacy. The goods would be transported by land across the Rio Grande above the area occupied by Union troops and turned over to Texan, Confederate authorities.

Commander Strong averred that the crews of these ships spent Christmas eve loudly singing Confederate songs, firing guns, and cheering for the South. So Christmas was observed in a celebratory fashion even south of the Rio Grande!!!