Baked beans, coffee, and bread: A Civil War Thanksgiving By Nanci Edwards, November 23, 2013

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Project Manager Nanci Edwards shares a family letter from the Civil War, providing a glimpse into what the holiday was like for one Union soldier.

Vidal Thom was my great-great uncle. On Christmas Day, 1861, the 19-year-old enlisted in the Union army in Nashua, New Hampshire.

I transcribed this letter he wrote on Thanksgiving to his younger brother, William "Willie" Thom (my great-great grandfather) from a "camp near Bealton Station, Virginia." In addition to imagining the chicken pie, cider, and plum pudding his brother was enjoying for Thanksgiving (and he was no doubt missing), Vidal also reflects on what he is thankful for, even though he was far from home.

This is just one of about 20 letters and one diary that came down through my dad's family in New Hampshire

The transcript of Vidal Thom's letter to his brother

http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/11/baked-beans-coffee-and-bread-a-civil-war-thanksgiving.html

Vidal L Thom