The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Mort Kunstler Civil War Calendar-- December "My Friend, the Enemy"

The last monthly calendar for 2015 is "My Friend, the Enemy."  It shows a Confedrate and a Union soldier standing on stones along the river, talking and the Union soldier enjoying a smoke from his pipe and the Confederate having a cup of coffee.  There are other soldiers way off in the background and a town, probably Fredericksburg, in the background.

"RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER, VA., December 25, 1862.  Fraternization was ever-present in the Civil War.  This was not remarkable.  Johnny Rebs and Billy yanks spoke the same language, had the same backgrounds and cultures, possessed the same likes and dislikes.

"While it was easy to hate the enemy in abstract, sometimes individual feelings overcame sectional animosity.  A regular reason for fraternization was the federals' wish for tobacco and the Confederates' desire for coffee.

"This swapping of hard-to-get items is shown here as two enemy soldiers meet in the Rappahannock River.  |They had declared a truce by long-distance shouting.  Now they stand in no-man's land and silently enjoy luxuries for a few moments.

"Winston Churchill once dubbed the American Civil War "the last war between gentlemen."

--Old Secesh

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