The Original Thanksgiving
© A. Scott Piraino
When most Americans think of the origins of Thanksgiving, images of
Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and feasts with Indians come to mind. That is
not true. The Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate today originated in
1864, the bloodiest year in US history.
The Civil War had been raging for nearly four years. Over half a
million soldiers were dead in what was by far the biggest war on earth
up to that time. In 1864, the American people had to choose whether to
end the war and dissolve the United States, or continue the carnage and
hope for victory.
The Army of the Potomac had borne the brunt of the fighting, and had
usually lost to the dashing Robert E. Lee. Bull run, The Peninsula
Campaign, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville had been debacles for
the Union Army. Only Antietam and Gettysburg could be called victories,
and these battles were won because the Union held their ground, not by
outmaneuvering the wily Confederates.
In the summer of 1864 command of all Union Armies passed to Ulysses
S. Grant. His grim strategy was to engage the Confederate armies in a
relentless war of attrition. To that end, the Union Army under Grant
fought a series of battles in Virginia. The Army of the Potomac
suffered 66,000 thousand casualties in six weeks, losing over half
their strength.
Out west, Sherman’s Army faced equally stubborn Confederates
in a battle for Atlanta. In the Shenandoah valley, another Confederate
Army was marching towards Washington. In total, Union Army casualties
in the summer of 1864 surpassed 100,000.
The press and public were horrified. President Lincoln was
criticized for his conduct of the war, and his insistence that slavery,
and the confederacy, be destroyed before the war could end. With the
Presidential election just four months away, the prospects for
President Lincoln, and the United States, appeared bleak.
Lincoln’s opponent in the election was George McClellan. A
former Union Army General who was responsible for some of the bungled
campaigns of the previous years. He promised an immediate end to the
war, and negotiations with the Confederacy. Had he won, the United
States would not exist.
On August 23rd, President Lincoln wrote, “it seems exceedingly
probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will
be my duty to so cooperate with the President-elect as to save the
Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have
secured his election on such grounds that he cannot possibly save it
afterwards."
Then on September 3rd, Sherman captured Atlanta. Two weeks later a
Union Army took the offensive in the Shenandoah valley. After three
victories, the Shenandoah valley, breadbasket of the Confederacy, was
in Union hands.
Although the Army of the Potomac did not win any decisive victories
in the summer of 1864, their sacrifice had finally besieged Lee’s
Army. The most infamous Confederate army was entrenched at Petersburg,
unable to move. The South now had no chance to defeat the Union in the
field, and change the course of the election.
After two months of campaigning, what had been a futile war with no
end in sight suddenly appeared to be all but over. The reversal of
fortunes was astounding. By October of 1864, it was clear that the
Union would win the Civil War. That November, the American people voted
to re-elect President Lincoln,and pursue the war to it's conclusion.
Grateful for the victories that had saved the United States, Abraham
Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a national day of
Thanksgiving.
Our country is being brought to the brink of another abyss by our
cynical, corrupt leaders. Americans have survived tough times before,
and we will suffer through the events of the near future. When we do
let us give thanks.
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