Christmas Day in 1914

A while back, I watched a program from the History Channel called "The Christmas Truce." This show told the story of how soldiers in World War I on both sides set aside their weapons to celebrate Christmas with each other. This story caught my attention, and I'd like to share it as we get ready to celebrate Christmas ourselves in just a couple days.

In December of 1914, World War I had been raging for five months. Soldiers on both sides believed that the war would end before Christmas, but it soon became apparent that no quick end was coming with a stalemate setting in on the Western Front. With the holidays approaching, morale among the troops fell. Their days spent in the trenches were miserable with mud up to their knees and infestations of rats and lice. The armies suffered horrific casualties and even more soldiers were lost to disease.

On and around Christmas Day however, the fighting ceased as holiday celebrations broke out. On Christmas Eve, British and German troops sang carols to each other from across the lines. Then on Christmas Day, German soldiers came out of their trenches, and the Allied soliders met them out in no-man's land after seeing they had no weapons. The soldiers greeted one another and shook hands. They exchanged gifts and even played soccer. Some soldiers even helped each other bury the dead.

This was the only time during World War I when this happened as future attempts were met with the threat of disciplinary action. This story shows that even in the midst of a war, we can set aside our differences for a time of peace, if only short lived. It encourages me to celebrate and make peace with those around me during this season. Happy Holidays.

Links to Learn More:

• Christmas Truce of 1914 - History Channel
• All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914
  

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Three Island Crossing Reenactment - Oregon Trail

Back in the fall my family and I made a day trip to Glenns Ferry, Idaho, where the annual reenactment of Three Island Crossing takes place. Settlers headed west on the Oregon Trail had to cross the Snake River at this point, and it became one of the most famous river crossings. This crossing was used until 1869 when a ferry was constructed two miles upstream by Gus Glenn. This state park includes The Oregon Trail History and Education Center about the early pioneer emigrants and Native American history.

I was really impressed by the fact that the reenactors made this harrowing journey across the river in just horses and wagons. It is a dangerous crossing no matter what century! The Oregon Trail was not an easy route and people suffered many tragedies making the journey. At one point in the reenactment, it became clear that those on the horses and in the wagons were actually swimming and being carried by the current. The river was too deep at that point, and it must have taken a lot of skill not to flip that wagon over.

Oregon Trail river crossings were incredibly dangerous as people and animals drowned or wagons were broken or lost all together. Many people were taken advantage of by being charged exorbitant fees to be ferried across the river. But river crossings were everyday occurrences for these pioneers that had to face incredible challenges to settling the West.

The whole experience was quite disappointing though. Only one wagon was used to cross this time. During the 19th Century hundreds of wagons would have crossed and only one made it seem less authentic. Plus, the crowds and traffic made it less enjoyable. We arrived there at the last minute to see the crossing and weren't able get a good viewing spot. However, this was the last year the crossing took place, due to the lack of actors and aging equipment, so it was nice to be able to see it at least once.

Links to Learn More:

• Three Island Crossing State Park
• More Photos from Three Island Crossing
  

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Book Review: Shades of Gray

Although I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction, I do occasionally enjoy it and have had the opportunity to read and review a couple of historical fiction books on my blog. The first was last year when I reviewed Two Brothers – One North, One South by David H. Jones. This year I read Shades of Gray by author Jessica James. It is a very unique romance novel set in the Civil War, and I have to admit that I'm impressed.

The story follows two main characters. Alexander Hunter is a Confederate cavalry commander wreaking havoc on Union supply lines and troops in northern Virginia. Andrea Evans, in disguise as a young man, is a Union scout and spy. Their paths cross in more ways than one. Through the course of the story, both of them discover that they are more alike than different, despite their conflicting allegiances. This story is extremely well-written and kept me guessing as to how it was going to end.

I was most impressed with the character development of this book. While other historical fiction novels set in the Civil War focus on armies and battles and forget about the characters, most of this story does not take place on the battlefield. While it does have some action, the focus of the story is the two main characters and how they come to fall in love with each other, despite being caught up in this horrible war that divided families and friends.

The story is intensely personal. With the story being set in the Civil War, the war itself also becomes intensely personal. Something that I seem to keep learning over and over again is how personal the Civil War was. It is much more than statistics. It is about real people who were affected by the war in many ways and how these real people fought and died for what they believed in. I would read more historical fiction books if they were like this one!

Links to Learn More:

• Civil War Historical Fiction Author Jessica James
• Shades of Gray at Amazon.com
  

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Holiday Caption Contest Winners

I'm happy to announce today the winners of the second annual holiday caption contest at My Adventures in History! Only two people participated in this year's contest, so I'm unsure at this point if I will keep this a tradition. However, I do want to thank those who did participate! I want to apologize if anyone submitted a caption and it didn't go through. The winners are:

1st Place - Geoff from the The Abraham Lincoln Blog won a copy of "Don't Know Much About History" by Kenneth C. Davis

2nd Place - Trestin from TrestinMeacham.org won the 2010 "This Day in History" Desk Calendar

Thank you Geoff and Trestin for your hilarious captions!

I also want to thank all my faithful readers, RSS subscribers, blogging friends/partners, and all the visitors to my blog. I will be returning to regular posts next week, but I want to wish you a happy and enjoyable holiday season!

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