Christmas in the American Civil War had a drawing in the Christmas 1865 issue of Harper's Weekly depicting the heads of several Confederate generals at Ulysses S. Grant's feet in an image that centered on Santa. After the war Nast purposely made the North Pole the home of Saint Nick so that no one else could use him for nationalistic propaganda like Nast himself did. Christmas in the American Civil War Christmas in the American Civil War (1861–1865) was celebrated in both the United States and the Confederate States of America although the day did not become an official holiday until five years after the war
Clay Bennett (cartoonist) National Journalism Award, the National Cartoonist Society Award for Editorial Cartoons, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the John Fischetti Award, the National Headliner Award, the Thomas Nast Award from the Overseas Press Club, the Berryman Award from the National Press Foundation, and the Ranan Lurie/United Nations Political Cartoon Award. On May 26, 2018, he was awarded the 2017 Divisional Award for Editorial Cartoons by the National Cartoonists Society. A past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, Bennett lives in Chattanooga with his wife, artist Cindy Procious. His work is syndicated internationally by The Washington Post Writers Group.