SUBMITTED BY: Steve Bailey (edited and vetted by Cheri Todd Molter)
Abstracted from the February 2020 Issue of the Marshville N.C. Museum & Cultural Center Newsletter:
“[In July 1864], the army of the Union and the army of the Confederacy were locked in vicious battle to the death just outside of Richmond, Virginia. As night fell after the…battle, cheers were heard from the Confederate lines. When General Grant asked what was going on behind the enemy’s line, he was told that the wife of General George Pickett had given birth to a baby boy, and his troops were celebrating. …Upon receiving the news, General Grant ordered bonfires to be lit and a toast given. ‘Cheers and hoorahs’ rang out all night long. For a few hours, the shooting stopped, and warring soldiers were drawn together for a birthday party. The birth of Pickett’s son only temporarily stopped a war. But it stands as evidence of what a good birthday party can do.”
Editor’s Note: If you’d like to read Gen. George Pickett’s letter to his wife describing this event and the note of congratulations that Gen. Grant wrote to Gen. Pickett, you can do so at this link: https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/pickett/pickett.html#pick151
