noon
The young pines , growing among the larger ones , were just such little trees as were used at home for Christmas trees , and within an hour after getting the camp made , every man thought of Christmas at home . The boys went off into the woods and got holly , and mistletoe , and every pup tent of the whole brigade was decorated , and they hung nose bags , grain sacks , army socks and pants on the trees . Around the fires stakes had been driven to hang clothes on to dry , and as night came and the pitch pine fires blazed up to the tops of the great pines , it actually looked like Christmas , though there was not a Christmas present anywhere . After supper the brigade band began to play patriotic airs , with occasionally an old fashioned tune , like `` Old Hundred , '' the woods rung with music from the boys who could sing , and everybody was as happy as I ever saw a crowd of people , and when it came time to retire the band played `` Home , Sweet Home , '' and three thousand rough soldiers went to bed with tears in their eyes , and every man dreamed of the dear ones at home , and many prayed that the home ones might be happy , and in the morning they all got up , stripped the empty Christmas stockings off the evergreen trees , put them on , and went on down the red road , and at noon the army entered Montgomery , Alabama , the first capital of the confederate states , took possession of the capital building in which were millions of dollars of confederate money and bonds . Every soldier filled his pockets and saddle bags with bonds and bills of large denominations . It was a poor soldier that could not count up his half a million dollars , but with all the money no man could buy a Christmas dinner . A dollar in greenbacks would buy more than all of the wagon loads of confederate currency captured that day .