On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a historic proclamation establishing the first Thanksgiving as a national holiday,
July 1863 was a pivotal role in the Civil War it lead to our Thanksgiving that we celebrate in November.
Thanksgiving was to be observed on the last Thursday of November. This act of gratitude came in the wake of two pivotal Union victories—Gettysburg (July 1–3) and Vicksburg (July 4)—that unfolded virtually one day apart and dramatically shifted the Civil War’s momentum.
The simultaneous triumphs were nothing short of miraculous in Northern eyes. At Gettysburg, General George Meade repulsed Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania, ending the Confederacy’s last major northern offensive. One day later, on Independence Day, General Ulysses S. Grant accepted the surrender of Vicksburg after a brilliant six-week siege, splitting the Confederacy along the Mississippi River and capturing 29,500 rebel troops. Together, these battles inflicted irreplaceable losses on the South and convinced Lincoln that final victory, though still distant, was now visible on the horizon.
Encouraged by Secretary of State William Seward and magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who had campaigned for decades for a fixed national Thanksgiving, Lincoln seized the moment. His proclamation called the American people to give thanks for the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies” and for the “signal victories” that preserved the Union. Amid grief for the fallen, Lincoln urged a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father” on November 26, 1863—America’s first officially unified Thanksgiving.
Born from battlefield deliverance, Lincoln’s proclamation transformed a scattered regional custom into a permanent national tradition, forever linking gratitude with the long struggle to preserve the United States.
It is in this same spirit that the first Thanksgiving was proclaim that we pray for both Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, the two WV National Guard personnel shot in DC Yesterday. We are thankful for our Military that put themselves on the line to serve our country. Please keep these two heroes and all our U.S. Military n your prayers!
Our Bakery’s Pumpkin Pie Recipes
For those needing a Thanksgiving Day Pumpkin Pie Recipe I have attached our bakery recipe that includes the crust with it:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
