A Wartime Thanksgiving in 1862
Governor William Pickering issues a formal proclamation calling for territorial prayer and unity amidst the 'monstrous conspiracy' of the Civil War.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An eventful period in our Nation's history is now passing. She is struggling with a monstrous conspiracy, which has for its end and aim the overthrow of constitutional liberty. Whilst this mighty contest is going forward, whilst national existence has been imperilled, the people of Washington Territory have been exempted from the ravages of most direful civil war. Therefore, I, William Pickering, Governor of the Territory of Washington, do set apart and appoint Thursday, the 27th day of November, 1862, as a day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to Almighty God. I invoke my fellow citizens, upon that day, that they lay aside their temporal labors, and assemble at their places of worship, and thank God for those mercies we have so bounteously shared, and pray that our rulers may be endowed with wisdom and strength; that the government may triumph over treason in arms; and that National peace and unity may be restored.
“Treason has not dared to uplift its hideous standard within our Territorial limits.”
This proclamation offers a glimpse into how distant, isolated Olympia felt the crushing anxiety of the Civil War. Even then, the governor used Thanksgiving as a tool of political and civic cohesion to align the remote territory with the Union cause.
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