I picked this up a few weeks ago at the library's used book sale. Looking forward to reading it in time to release for the Christmas in July challenge.

From the cover -
In the winter of 1862, during the seemingly endless nightmare of the Civil War, a small miracle occurred. Just after Christmas, on the eve of the bloody battle of Stones River in Tennessee, the Union and Confederate armies set up camp within shouting distance of one another. To raise their spirits, they began a battle of patriotic tunes - "Yankee Doodle" drowned out by "Dixie." Then, during a pause, a Union band struck up the wistful strains of "Home Sweet Home." A Confederate band chimed in, and soon every regimental band and every soldier, Rebel and Yankee alike, had swelled the chorus. This bittersweet moment is the centerpiece of James McIvor’s portrait in miniature of a country weary of war.
Filled with soldiers’ letters - marked by humor, yearning, and courage - as well as Christmas poems and songs from the period, this is a tale of unabashed holiday spirit for our own divided nation.

This is a wonderful little history book about this aspect of the Civil War. It shows, through soldiers' letters, how their view of the war changed over time. When they first started out, it was a war of glory: go away for a few months and fight for an ideal. But after over a year at war, the soldiers were demoralized. Supplies were impossible to come by, unless they happened to find them in the area where they were preparing to fight. But in the midst of the strife, there were rays of hope. Soldiers began to see each other as human beings, rather than the enemy. The end of the book tells about how the war ended, and Christmas traditions came to be accepted in the U.S.

A nice little read about the Civil War. I will soon be leaving this for another Civil War buff to enjoy.

Actually not on a bench (but near some). This was left in Lincoln's hat (his life-size statue, with a modern tourist). But it was gone within 10 min. Poof!

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Found both of your books left in Lincoln Square! Think this one will be my favorite, can't wait to start reading and passing on.

Thanks!

PS: Kids were getting picture with Lincoln statue, when they looked up at him and saw the book!