The CWRNF met at Napolatano’s for a holiday dinner. The tables were decorated with a Civil War theme. After dinner, members and guests read aloud selected passages from letters or diaries written by soldiers on both sides. These letters reflected soldiers’ homesickness, despair, fear, hunger, and boredom in all wars throughout history, but during these four years of the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Civil War, these men’s correspondence to their loved ones or thoughts put in their diaries were particularly poignant.
Handouts included CWRNF fliers, a famous 1908 print of the Gettysburg Address, and information on famed Civil War artist Thomas Nast who created the image of Santa Claus—more than 80 years before Coca-Cola created the iconic picture of a jovial red-faced, red-robed Santa.
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