ca. 1863, [Harper’s Weekly picturing Thomas Nast’s Santa Claus]
“Santa Claus before Nast was a tall, thin man; it is Nast who made him the fat, jolly, bearded man that we have today. For Nast, Santa was something of a propaganda tool. In his famous Christmas scene, which appeared in the January 3, 1863, issue of Harper’s Weekly, Santa, in his first appearance in a Nast cartoon, is shown entertaining Union troops by hanging Jeff Davis in effigy. But not all of Nast’s Christmas work was overt propaganda. He also shows that even in the midst of the war, there was still some joy to be found in the Christmas holiday. In the far background of this drawing, some soldiers are chasing what appears to be a wild boar, perfect for Christmas dinner, while others play games, including the time honored medieval sport of climbing atop a greased pole to claim a prize. The drummer boys in the foreground, surprised by the jack in the box, tells us that children are in this war, too. In other Christmas cartoons, he reminded readers of the harsh reality of Christmas during wartime, especially the separation of soldiers from their loved ones. Nast’s work in support of the Union cause was considered highly successful; in fact, it is said that even President Lincoln appreciated the artist’s work–he supposedly commented, “Thomas Nast has been our best recruiting sergeant. His emblematic cartoons have never failed to arouse enthusiasm and patriotism, and have always seemed to come just when these articles were getting scarce.”
Black History month. Here is your 1st black history heroine.
The lady circled in the photo was Lucy Higgs Nichols. She was born into slavery in Tennessee, but during the Civil War she managed to escape and found her way to 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment which was encamped nearby. She stayed with the regiment and worked as a nurse throughout the war.
After the war, she moved north with the regiment and settled in Indiana, where she found work with some of the veterans of the 23rd.
She applied for a pension after Congress passed the Army Nurses Pension Act of 1892 which allowed Civil War nurses to draw pensions for their service. The War Department had no record of her, so her pension was denied. Fifty-five surviving veterans of the 23rd petitioned Congress for the pension they felt she had rightfully earned, and it was granted.
The photograph shows Nichols and other veterans of the Indiana regiment at a reunion in 1898. Beloved by the troops who referred to her as “Aunt Lucy,” Nichols was the only woman to receive an honorary induction into the Grand Army of the Republic, and she was buried in an unmarked grave in New Albany with full military honors in 1915.
![ca. 1863, [Harper’s Weekly picturing Thomas Nast’s Santa Claus]“Santa Claus befo](https://64.media.tumblr.com/88452d7d4eccecd36bb8d5e79bffb61e/tumblr_mfisqcxwse1rstnezo1_640.jpg "ca. 1863, [Harper’s Weekly picturing Thomas Nast’s Santa Claus]“Santa Claus befo")
![ca. 1861-63, [hand stitched thirty-four star American flag] via Cowan’s Auctions](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f180588bc89a29f09cfd20adfc6d5137/tumblr_mf7bajDLYk1rstnezo1_400.jpg "ca. 1861-63, [hand stitched thirty-four star American flag] via Cowan’s Auctions")
