Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1901-12-23
BY
{. 3. SANDERS,
Ransom's Brigade.

: By this time every man who had the
means and desire to become drunk was in
that condition. Some had received sup
plies of food and drink from home. which.
of course, were divided with the many
who had not.
The shot before spoken Of was the only
one I remember to have heard during
Christmas. The calm was main
tanned until the following day. There
was much activity, frolic and fun in the
trenches, but the day, compared with many
which preceded and followed. was one OF
Sabbatical calm. I attended church in
the forenoon in the city and heard the
Rev. DR.. Platt who was esteemed by
many to be the most eloquent preacher of
Petersburg. Besides my own rations
was a guest at three different dinners,
and ate at each what would be a full
meal to a sufficiently fed man. expected
cholera morbus, but escaped.
It is a melancholy proof Of the destitu-
ton to which the people of the grand
commonwealth Of Virginia had reached
in 1864 with her armies, one hostile, tear
ing her bosom, that the dinner intended
for General Lees army was a complete
failure so far as 1 know.
The part for Johnson's division reached
us about the end of the first week in
January. I was directed by General Ran
som to divide the dinner sent to his bril-
gade among the five regiments which
constituted 1t. I suppose the brigade con-
tanned between twelve and fifteen hundred
men. My task was not difficult. Each
regiment was nearly equal in numbers,
and the dinner was divided into i've equal
parts. One man could carry easily the
quantity distributed to one regiment and
not be much weighted. After all had
been divided as nearly equal as possible,
there was a Jar containing about quart
% ArTff nad0QfFtnO
this, took it for my share, and it was
very good.
I have been informed by several OF
them who did 1t, that on the nights OF
Christmas eve and Christmas the soldiers
from both sides fraternized In the picket
holes and agreed not to shoot during
Christmas and tried to reach an agree
ment by which they would not endeavor
to kill each other when momentarily ex-
posed above the parapet. They could not
succeed in the latter altogether, but one
man has told me since that after that
day he never tried to kill a soldier on the
other side except in the battles he partic-
ipated in during the ensuing fifteen weeks.
Many visits wre made on that day,
and friends from the same community
in distant states. who had been long sep
arated saw each other, some for the last
time To the entire army as / was in
formed, it was day of cheer, one bright
spot in the gloom OF present distress and
impending defeat.
That Christmas day taught many of
the soldiers of both armies that their
enemies were such only in name-that in
reality there was no hatred between them
as human beings, and that they were all
subjects OF the same feelings and pas
sions, when the star of the south sunk
forever at Appomattox courthouse, and
these same men met for the last time
without attempting to destroy each other.
If a harsh word passed from those Of our
army to any of the other during the days
the paroles were being given, never
heard of II.
Thousands Of good wishes were given
by the soldiers in blue to US who were
going to our homes, and they surely must
have been the sincere speech of the heart;
and some of the seeds may have been
planted the previous Christmas.