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December 1
1861. Union gunboat Penguin captures Confederate blockade-running vessel
Albion off Charleston, SC.
1863. Belle Boyd, Confederate spy, released from prison in Washington.
December 2
1859. John Brown, militant abolitionist, hanged for treason in Charlestown,
VA for his October raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA. Browns
thwarted insurrection and execution hasten the beginning of the War.
1863. Bronze statue Goddess of Freedom Triumphant put in place crowning the
U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. This 19 ft. Lady of Freedom,
designed by American sculptor Thomas Crawford, represents Americas promise
of liberty and justice for all.
December 3
1862. In a controversial move, Confederate General Thomas Hindman, defying
orders, sets out to attack Union forces at Fayettville, AR.
December 4
1862. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston appointed overall commander in
West.
1863. Confederate forces abandon Knoxville, TN.
1864. Battle of Waynesboro. A running cavalry battle between Confederate
Gen. Joe Wheeler and Union Gen. Judson Kilpatrick as Shermans troops
continue their March to the Sea.
December 5
1861. Confederate General William Hardee, affectionately known as Old
Reliable, takes command of Central Army of Kentucky.
December 6
1889. Confederate President Jefferson Davis dies in New Orleans.
December 7
1862. Battle of Hartsville, TN. Confederate victory under the command of
General John Hunt Morgan leads to cavalry raids by Nathan Bedford Forest in
western Tennessee.
1862. Battle of Prairie Grove, AR. Troops under Confederate Major General
Thomas Hindman take on two Union divisions under Union Generals Blunt and
Herron. No decisive winner but Hindman retreats.
December 8
1863. Union cavalry raids under General W.W. Averell destroy railroads in
West Virginia.
December 9
1861. Joint Committee on Conduct of the War is established by Congress.
December 10
1861. Kentucky joins Confederacy as its 13th and last state.
December 11
1861. Fire in Charleston, SC business district.
1862. Union launches artillery shelling of Fredericksburg.
December 12
1862. Union troops cross Rappahannock into Fredericksburg under dense fog.
December 13
1861. Battle of Buffalo Mountain, VA.
1862. Battle of Fredericksburg results in over 12,000 Union casualties as
troops under General Ambrose Burnside repeatedly attack Confederate forces
under Generals James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson entrenched at Maryes
Heights. It is well that war is so terrible, Confederate General Robt. E.
Lee states during the battle, we should grow too fond of it.
December 14
1863. Battle of Beans Station, TN.
December 15
1862. Burnside pulls defeated Union army back across Rappahannock River.
1864. Battle of Nashville, TN. First day of two day battle begins before
sunrise as Union troops under Gen. Geo. Thomas attack forces under
Confederate General John Bell Hood. Union victory leads to Confederate
retreat and Hoods resignation.
December 16
1863. Gettysburg Union veteran General John Buford dies of Typhoid fever.
1864. Federal forces capture Wytheville, VA.
December 17
1862. Battle of Goldsboro, NC. Confederates force Union retreat.
1862. Grant issues infamous order expelling Jews from War Department.
Order is later rescinded by Lincoln.
December 18
1861. Britains Lord Russell demands release of Mason and Slidell (from the
Trent Affair) and threatens war with America.
1865. Slavery officially abolished as 27 states ratify 13th Amendment.
December 19
1862. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest continues campaign by
defeating Union cavalry near Lexington, TN.
December 20
1860. South Carolina adopts Ordinance of Secession and secedes from Union.
1862. Confederate troops under General Van Dorn surprise Union troops at
Holly Springs, MS and force their withdrawal into Tennessee.
December 21
1861. Confederate General Jacksons Stonewall Brigade begins march to
their winter camp at Winchester, VA.
1864. Shermans troops capture Savannah, GA.
December 22
1864. Sherman presents Savannah, GA to Lincoln as a Christmas gift after
capturing the city at the end of his March to the Sea.
December 23
1864. Under relentless pursuit by Union troops under Gen. George Thomas, the
remainder of Confederate General John Bell Hoods army continues to
disintegrate.
1864. Union naval officer David G. Farragut named vice admiral (a new naval
rank equivalent to lieutenant general of the army).
December 24
1864. Union fleet under Rear Admiral David D. Porter begins shelling Fort
Fisher, NC.
December 25
1860. Union Major Anderson withdraws troops to Ft. Sumter to avoid
bloodshed.
1861. Lincoln meets with Cabinet to resolve Trent Affair.
December 26
1861. Union General Halleck declares martial law in Missouri.
1861. Trent Affair ends as Lincolns cabinet decides U.S.-held prisoners
Mason and Slidell should be released.
December 27
1862. Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, MS begins. (3 days). Hampered by swamps
and severed communication lines Union forces attempt assault on Vicksburg.
December 28
1861. Union army and naval forces begin cooperative actions in mounting
counter-attack against Confederate attempts to overtake Union troops at Port
Royal.
December 29
1862. Union General Shermans offensive at Chickasaw Bluffs near Vicksburg
results in heavy casualties and is repulsed by Confederates.
1863. Battle of Mossy Creek, TN.
December 30
1862. Union General William Rosecrans lines up troops outside
Murfreesboro,TN. Confederate cavalry proceed to capture over 1,000 troops
and destroy vital supplies.
December 31
1862. Battle of Parkers Crossroads, TN. Confederate troops under the famous
Cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Wizard of the Saddle, are
surprised by an attack from their rear. When asked for direction, Forrest
exclaims Charge both ways!
1862. Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro) TN. Forces under Confederate
General Braxton Bragg collide with Union forces under Union General Wm.
Rosecrans in first of three days fighting. Union repels Confederate
attacks; terrible losses on both sides.
1862. West Virginia admitted to the Union as 35th state.
1862. USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras in stormy seas.
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January 1
1862. Battle of Port Royal Island, SC.
1862. Confederate Commissioners Slidell and Mason (Trent Affair) are
released from Prison.
1863. Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. Lincoln states all slaves
shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free
January 2
1863. Third day of Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro). Confederate forces
under Bragg attack Union forces under Rosecrans but are repulsed. Battle
comes to an end with more that 24,000 casualties in three days fighting.
January 3
1862. Bragg retreats from Murfreesboro in terrible weather.
January 4
1862. In the Shenandoah, Stonewall Jacksons Romney Campaign is filled with
extreme hardship from snow, ice and sleet. Half frozen and hungry troops
capture town of Bath but soon withdraw.
January 5
1861. Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan (Mobile Bay) taken over by Confederate
troops.
January 6
1862. Leading senators demand McClellan be removed because of inaction.
Lincoln refuses.
January 7
1865. Lincoln relieves General Butler of command.
January 8
1861. South adopts provisional Confederate Constitution.
1863. Battle of Springfield, MO. Confederate General John S. Marmaduke
destroys Schofields supply base at Springfield.
January 9
1861. Mississippi secedes.
1861. Jefferson Davis named President of Confederacy.
January 10
1861. Florida secedes.
1863. Union Navy bombards Galveston, TX.
January 11
1861. Alabama secedes.
1862. Union Secretary of War Simon Cameron resigns following corruption
charges.
1865. Missouri abolishes slavery.
January 12
1862. Union, under General Ambrose Burnside, attempts naval mission to gain
control of North Carolina. Severe weather results in mission failure.
January 13
1862. Lt. John Worden named commander of USS Monitor, presently under
construction in New York.
1865. Union naval forces under Admiral Porter attack Fort Fisher, NC.
January 14
1864. Union troops force Longstreet retreat near Dandridge, TN.
January 15
1862. Edwin M. Stanton named Union Secretary of War.
January 16
1864. Union cavalry engages Confederates at Kimbroughs Crossroads, TN.
1865. Robert E. Lee assumes command of all Confederate armies.
January 17
1863. Grant assumes personal command of Vicksburg campaign.
1864. Battle of Dandridge, TN. Longstreets attack forces Union to pull back
to New Market.
January 18
1862. Confederate General Stonewall Jacksons exhausted troops, after having
twice attempted attack on Cumberland, Maryland, make winter quarters at
Bath.
January 19
1861. Georgia secedes.
1862. Battle of Mill Springs, KY. Union victory destroys Confederate
defenses in Kentucky.
1865. Sherman leaves Savannah to approach Lees forces.
January 20
1863. Burnsides Mud March. Attempting to move on Richmond, Union troops
become bogged down in mud caused by two days rain.
January 21
1864. In Nashville, TN, pro-Union citizens propose anti-slavery resolution
in secret convention. A similar convention had just days before taken place
in Little Rock, AR.
January 22
1864. Ensign James J. Russell of USS Restless captures Confederate blockade
runner William A. Kain.
January 23
1863. Union General Burnside asks Lincoln to dismiss Hooker, and several
other Union officers, or accept his (Burnsides) resignation from the Army.
January 24
1863. Fighting snow, cold and sleet, Marmadukes cavalry prepares to cross
White River to safe ground.
January 25
1863. Lincoln names General Joseph Hooker as commander of Army. (Burnside
was later persuaded to withdraw his resignation).
January 26
1861. Louisiana secedes.
1862. General P.G.T. Beauregard named second-in-command in Tennessee (under
Albert Sidney Johnston).
January 27
1862. Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1 demanding action from Union
forces.
1864. Battle of Fair Garden, TN. By the end of the day, Confederate troops
are defeated.
January 28
1864. Union cavalry under General Samuel D. Sturgis pursues Confederate
troops after first days fighting at Fair Garden but suffers severe
casualties and, threatened by approaching Confederate reinforcements,
withdraws.
January 29
1861. Hotly contested and widely disputed Kansas enters Union as free state.
1862. Confederate spy Belle Boyd captured and sent to Washington prison.
January 30
1862. USS Monitor launched in New York. The vessel is the most advanced ship
in the world at the time and features a rotating gun turret.
January 31
1863. Confederate naval forces sink two Union ships guarding Charleston
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