Today in History

Month
Dec 1, 1779
Washington and his generals drawn and engraved by A.H. Ritchie

George Washington establishes winter quarters at Morristown

Dec 2, 1859
Portrait of John Brown, May 1859. Photograph by Martin M. Lawrence.

John Brown is hanged

Dec 2, 1863

Battle of Mine Run, fought from November 27 to December 2, ended

Dec 3, 1755
Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart, an American painter who painted a series of portraits of George Washington, is born

Dec 3, 1826

George B. McClellan, Union Major General during the Civil War, is born

Dec 4, 1780
Patriot Colonel William and his men created a fake cannon from a pine log.

Battle of Rugeley’s Mill

Dec 5, 1839

George Armstrong Custer, Union Major General during the Civil War, was born

Dec 6, 1833
Photograph of John Singleton Mosby

John S. Mosby, Confederate Colonel during the Civil War, was born

Dec 7, 1787
Constitution

Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S Constitution

Dec 7, 1862

Battle of Prairie Grove

Dec 7, 1862
Map of Kentucky and Tennessee (1862)

Battle of Hartsville

Dec 9, 1775

Battle of Great Bridge

Dec 10, 1864
Trees in Savannah Georgia with a cannon under them

Federal Army arrives in front of Savannah, Georgia

Dec 11, 0725

George Mason, Constitutional Convention Delegate, was born

Dec 11, 1862
Fredericksburg, Va. View of town from east bank of the Rappahannock, March 1863

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought from December 11-15, started

Dec 12, 1781
An illustration of Patriot and British forces at Halfway Swamp

Battle of Halfway Swamp, fought from December 12-13, started

Dec 12, 1806
Portrait taken of Confederate Cherokee General Stand Watie

Stand Watie, Confederate Brigadier General during the Civil War, was born

Dec 13, 1781
Photo of the Halfway Swamp

Battle of Halfway Swamp, fought from December 12-13, ended

Dec 13, 1864

Battle of Fort McAlister

Dec 14, 1780
Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton

Founding Father Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York

Dec 14, 1799
Portrait of George Washington copied by Stuart from his own Athenaeum Portrait

George Washington, First President of the United States, died

Dec 14, 1862
Kinston | Engagement at Upper Trent Road | Dec 14, 1862

Battle of Kinston

Dec 15, 1791

Bill of Rights is ratified

Dec 15, 1862
Fredericksburg, Va. View of town from east bank of the Rappahannock, March 1863

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought from December 11-15, ended

Dec 15, 1864

Battle of Nashville, fought from December 15-16, started

Dec 16, 1773
“Boston Tea Party;” by W.W. Cooper.  Engraving in The History of North America, 1789.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1864
This is a photograph of the Nashville Ruins on a cloudy day.

Battle of Nashville, fought from December 15-16, ended

Dec 17, 1862
Goldsborough Bridge Battlefield and Monument, Wayne County, N.C.

Battle of Goldsborough Bridge

Dec 18, 1881
Portrait of Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes

Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes, explorer, surgeon, and politician, died

Dec 19, 1776

Thomas Paine publishes the first pamphlet in a series named the “The American Crisis”

Dec 19, 1777
Painting of George Washington on horseback leading weary Continental Army soldiers through the snow toward Valley Forge in 1777.

Washington and his army begin their winter encampment at Valley Forge

Dec 19, 1862
Battle of Jackson

Battle of Jackson, also known as Old Salem Cemetery

Dec 20, 1812

Sacagawea, a guide for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their Corps of Discovery Expedition, died

Dec 21, 1776

Battle of Mount Holly, also known as Iron Works Hill, fought from December 21-23, started

Dec 22, 1807

The 1807 Embargo Act passed

Dec 22, 1862
An illustration depicting the entry of Morgan's Freebooters into Washington, Ohio

Confederate cavalry under James Hunt Morgan crosses the Cumberland River to begin the Christmas Raid in Kentucky

Dec 23, 1776

Battle of Mount Holly, also known as Iron Works Hill, fought from December 21-23, ended

Dec 23, 1783
Print shows George Washington shaking hands with an officer, among other officers of the Continental Army, as he bids them farewell in 1783, at the end of the American Revolution.

Washington resigns as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in Annapolis, MD

Dec 24, 1814
Delegates from the United States and Great Britain gather around a table to sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, in a formal interior on Christmas Eve 1814.

The Treaty of Ghent is signed

Dec 24, 1864
Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach, N.C.

First Battle of Fort Fisher, fought from December 24-27, started

Dec 25, 1776
A depiction of Washington's attack on the Hessians at Trenton on December 25, 1776.

George Washington crosses the Delaware River, starting the Ten Crucial Days Campaign

Dec 26, 1776
George Washington on horseback leading Continental forces during the Battle of Trenton.

Battle of Trenton

Dec 26, 1860

Major Robert Anderson evacuates Fort Moultrie for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor

Dec 26, 1862
Map of Chickasaw Bayou along the Mississippi River.

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, fought from December 26-29, started

Dec 27, 1776
Painting of Johann Rall

Johann Rall, Hessian Colonel during the American Revolution, died

Dec 27, 1864
Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach, N.C.

First Battle of Fort Fisher, fought from December 24-27, ended

Dec 28, 1825
Portrait of James Wilkinson in military uniform

James Wilkinson, Patriot Major General during the American Revolution, died

Dec 29, 1808

Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, was born

Dec 29, 1812
USS Constitution

USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java

Dec 29, 1862
Chickasaw Bayou, Miss.

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, fought from December 26-29, ended

Dec 30, 1861

Banks in New York suspend specie payments

Dec 31, 1775

Richard Montgomery, Patriot Major General during the American Revolution, died

Dec 31, 1775
Dramatic history painting showing American general Richard Montgomery collapsing after being struck during the snowy assault on Quebec, as soldiers around him react amid smoke, weapons, and confusion.

Battle of Quebec

Dec 31, 1815

George Meade, Union Major General during the Civil War, was born

Dec 31, 1862

Battle of Stones River, fought from December 31 to January 2, started

Dec 31, 1862
Parker's Cross Roads, Henderson County, Tenn.

Battle of Parker's Cross Roads

Month