Christmas in the American Civil War "the best recruiting sergeant the North ever had". Nast was not the only one to use Christmas as a propaganda tool. On the Union side, "The New York Herald" also engaged in propaganda. One illustration published in the paper included Santa Claus fuming that he could not reach southern children, due to the northern blockade. On the Confederate side, "The Richmond Examiner" described Santa to its young readers as "a Dutch toy monger" who was a New York/New England "scrub" and Hottentot that had nothing to do with traditional Virginian celebrations of Christmas. Even through the war was over, Nast
Allen Bert Christman Allen Bert Christman Allen Bert Christman (May 31, 1915 – January 23, 1942), known professionally as Bert Christman, was an American cartoonist and naval aviator. He is best known as artist of the newspaper comic strip "Scorchy Smith", about a pilot-adventurer in the inter-war years. He was also credited with co-creating the original, Wesley Dodds version of the DC Comics character the Sandman. Artist Bert Christman and writer Gardner Fox are generally credited as co-creating the original, Wesley Dodd version of the DC Comics character the Sandman. While the character's first appearance is usually given as "Adventure Comics" #40 (cover-dated