Customer Reviews

God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story

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An interesting little book about the Christmas of 1862 and the Battle of Stones River fought near Murfreeboro, Tennessee a few days later. The book traces the recent increase in popularity of Christmas in America, the steady decline in morale among soldiers on both sides during 1862, and how this led to a particularly poignant moment of comraderie on the eve of the battle. Very much enjoyed reading this book. A great stocking stuffer for the Civil War buff.

***** This is a small book that was actually released in 2005. Now, in 2006, it is being reprinted in a small paperback for more people to discover and enjoy. The story takes readers back in history, to the Civil War. Through the eyes of soldiers' letters (Union and Confederate) comes a true tale of a Christmas miracle. It will not take you long to read the story since it is less than two hundred pages, but it is a book that you will find yourself reading more than once. Full of joy, sorrow, compassion, and courage, this is a story you will never forget. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The book was well written. It is a short and easy to read book. The book contains a lot of letters from soldiers to their families at Christmas. They picture in their minds the good times they had at Christmas past, and yearning to be home, and the end to this miserable war. Soldiers were shot as they tried to sneak away from their unit, just to go home and see their family one more time at Christmas. The book is worth reading year round.

The primary focus of GRYMS is on the human side of the American Civil War, made especially poignant around Christmastime. Much of the book presented events surrounding the battle of Murfreesboro -- a three-day fight in Tennessee that started on December 31, 1862. This gives author James MacIvor more than enough room to touch on many of the aspects of Civil War as experienced by ordinary soldiers of both sides. By 1862, the martial ardor of both sides had died down, as the romantic idea of a quick war gave way to the realization that many harsh months of inconclusive fighting lay ahead. MacIvor's route winds through a December military wedding, war weariness, bravery and cowardice in battle, mad generals, the pitiable executions of deserters on the day after Christmas, and brass bands "battling" on the night before battle, culminating in a soulful rendition of "Home Sweet Home." The book was very light on the political rationale for the war, but provided some wonderful vignettes illuminating the human experience of ordinary soldiers, including some of the homespun songs that made life bearable on the front lines.

Grades:
Engaging reading/listening: B
New/interesting info: B
Historical insights: C

Ok, I admit it. I very nearly didn't add this treasure to my personal Civil War library. I was looking for a copy of Kevin Rawling's "We were Marching on Christmas Day," hoping beyond hope of finding it in stores after having read an article in my local paper about him being the Civil War Santa. An article which, I might add, mentioned his book and had me turning my attention to the Christmas season during the war for the first time. When I saw this book in stores for the first time I was at first intrested and then quickly turned off by it. It just seemed like it was a novel to me. I was looking for non-fiction, not a fictional story set at Christmastime during the war. But for whatever reason I decided to pick it up even though I really didn't want a novel on Christmas during the war.

Well let's just say I was far from disappointed about being wrong about the book. It is a fascinating look into Christmas and how the war affected it for soldier and civilian alike. Even more fascinating, for me, was to learn that one of the sources McIvor used was the very book I'd been looking for in the first place.

James McIvor brings together both research and individuals' letters to paint a picture of what life was like for soldier and civilian, North and South, alike. One can learn much about life at this time and how the war affected it. But even more than that, McIvor brings out how the feelings towards the war had changed from the early days when people on both sides expected all it would take was one big battle to get the other side to capitualate to the growing realization that the war was going to be a long one. And this was even more noticeable at Christmas, a time when most of the soldiers were so used to being at home with friends and loved ones. And at home the holiday season just reminded those who the soldiers left behind that their sons, grandsons, fathers, husbands, brothers, etc. were away fighting the war. Or worse, they were never coming home again.

"God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers," along with "We were Marching on Christmas Day," is an absolute must for any Civil War enthusiasts library as it gives us a look into a too often overlooked element of the war. Holidays. We spend too much time paying attention only to the generals, politicians, dates and the events that occured on those dates that we overlook the the fact that the war was fought by living, breathing individuals. But when a book takes the time to remind us of those individuals and the lives they led during the war, then that book is absolutely worth reading. That is exactly what this book does. It reminds us of those individuals and also gives us an understanding of how they must have felt during the holiday season.

Now if only someone would provide a book that looks at some of the other holidays of the year and how they were affected by the war.

This book revolves around the people who participated in the 1862 Civil War battle "The Battle of Stones River", fought near Murfreeboro, Tennessee just after Christmas. It is not at all an account of the battle itself.

The author uses mostly excerpts from letters and autobiographies from participants to illustrate how Christmas 1862 felt to the people involved in this particular battle. There are Christmas poems from papers of the day, popular song lyrics, letters to and from home, and biographical information about various people involved.

There are no complete accounts of the battle but only descriptions of part of the battle that allow the reader to develop a context in which to place these events; so if you are looking for a military account on the Battle of Stones River, this is not the book to read.

The story of the Generals and Privates that are covered here are poignant. There are several accounts of participants who foresaw their death. There are a number of accounts of merciful treatment from enemy combatants. I found these accounts the most intriguing. The story of the 2 opposing armies singing together "Home, Sweet Home" on the eve of battle is probably the climax of the book.

The author also includes material on the nature of Christmas in 1862 and gives an excellent history of the evolution of this holiday and explanations of why it is the way it is. This was excellent material and fascinating.

Overall, a very enjoyable account of the juxtaposition of religious observances and the horror of war. Definitely worth a read.

Well worth the read at Christmas or anytime of the year, but especially at Christmas...not a hard read or a long read but a good read...the story, to some degree, of the evolution of the Christmas celebration in America, highlighting the differences between celebrations in the North and the South, and how those varying celebrations came together on a cold winter night in 1862 in Tennessee to change men, and perhaps the country, forever...When read with "Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce" (Stanley Weintraub), the reader will have a good view of historically documented fact on how the thought and memory of the Christ child can affect men at war. Interesting; Provocative..Good stuff, especially at Christmas.

I read this on Christmas Eve with tears in my eyes. Even if you aren't interested in Civil War history, you might like this book just for what it tells us about Christmas customs in an age way before Santa Claus became a Christmas staple. (For a Canadian version of these matters, check out Derek McCormack's magnificent CHRISTMAS DAYS for a refresher course.)

From the buoyant spirits of the North and South during Christmas 1861, to the privations and agonies of Christmas 1862, is a dramatic reflection of the larger picture of the war. Soldiers in the previous Christmas still had gift packages from home, but by the very next year mail service had become erratic where it existed at all, and nothing was safe in the mail. A single turkey cost nearly 30 dollars, enough to rent an entire home for six months! There was inflation like that found in Berlin after World War I. And the suffering of the soldiers is unbelievable. Having to eat hard tack laced with worms is ghastly.

McIvor's research is terrific, and he seems to have been everywhere at once, in the research libraries of dozens of universities and private collections, gathering and sifting a mass of undifferentiated and miscellaneous dross and sifting out all but the most telling anecdotes. The only thing I didn't really like was the title, which just seems forced. I remember the old carol, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," but to switch it to "Soldiers," I shake my head with distaste, murmuring, nix on that.

James McIvor's God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers: A True Civil War Christmas Story (Plume, 2006) is one of the most rewarding and one of the most confounding books I've read in some time.

The cons: it's hard to say what the author was going for as it seems to be three books-in-one...the subtitle ("A True...Story") seemingly refers to an episode on the eve of Battle of Stone's River (a full week after Christmas) in which soldiers from both sides sang "Home Sweet Home," yet he spends less than three pages on the episode and offers but a single firsthand account; the book does include a bibliography but no endnotes nor an index, which makes it hard to adequately trace some of the truly good primary source material in the book (see below); look, I love Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative, but I get gas when I see it used a source; finally, the author tends to exaggerate and hold to well-worn myths on certain points of tactics, technology, etc.

Now, for the pros, and there are a lot of them:

It's a short book, very affordable, and available in a variety of formats, and the actual book size makes it a great "stocking stuffer."

The first chapter (especially) of the book describes the increasing importance of Christmas celebrations in AMerica in the mid-19th-century and does an even better job of pointing to differences between a still-"Merry" Christmas of 1861 to a significantly changed atmosphere in late 1862, especially in the South

The book does include a great number of meaningful and relevant excerpts of soldier correspondence during Christmastime, many fittingly drawn from the Stone's River Battlefield archives and other archival/unpublished sources.

The book actually serves as an estimable summary of the Battle of Stone's River.

The human interest stories within are terrific, including a few tragic coincidences and premonitions, and I find myself wanting to learn more about a few people in the book, especially Col. Julius P. Garresche.

The inclusion and interpretation of wartime Christmas poetry was a real value; some of it was obscure, but even the well-known poems like Longfellow's "I Heard the Bells" are provided in their entirety and it's often the less-quoted lines that are the most poetic.

The writing and storytelling is done with grace and sensitivity befitting the holiday, the tragic nature of war, and the hope of the first peacetime Christmas in 1865.

The book is admittedly something of a "mash-up," but everyone should find that it is more than the sum of its parts. Recommended.

"God Rest Ye Merry Soldiers" tells the story of how the Civil War advanced the progress of Christmas from an unobserved feast to the greatest American holiday. This book begins with the tracking of Christmas, a day ignored in New England and an occasion of feasting and revelry in the South. In the years leading up to the Civil War the day had been achieving increasing importance. The absence of men from their homes sharpened the allure of this family holiday.

Centered on the Battle of Stones River/Murfreesboro, Tennessee from Christmas Eve 1862 through New Year's 1863, it tells of the armies singing their Christmas songs the night before the battle and then relates the human side of this Yuletide conflict. We are introduced to the wounded and dying, those who renewed antebellum acquaintances and the scars left on the survivors.

The last portion of the book picks up the post war transformation of Christmas into the Tradition we enjoy today. Out of our most terrible conflict arose our most Sacred Season.

This is a short book, a quick read. I was given it for one Christmas and read it during another. It forces the reader to pause and reflect on what Christmas has meant in the past and what it should mean to us today. Enjoy it some Christmas.