Summary
The first "Official" Thanksgiving in the United States of America was celebrated in 1863. President Lincoln, by proclamation, declared a day of Thanksgiving in the middle of the Civil War.
The original proclamation is in fact dated Oct. 3, 1863. Just a few months before, on July 1-3, 1863, the Union and Confederate armies had clashed at Gettysburg, Pa. During those three days 3,155 Union soldiers were killed and between 2,600 and 4,500 Confederate soldiers were killed. But they were all Americans. The total of the killed, wounded and missing during those three days for the Union side was 23,040. The Confederate estimate is between 20,650 and 25,000.See the full content of this document
Extract
When the Feast Became Official
The outcome of the Civil War was by no means clear in October 1863. We still could have finished the conflict with two separate nations on the North American continent instead of one United States.
Despite Union victories at Vicksburg ...See the full content of this document
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