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
Photograph of John Brown

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
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

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
The March to Valley Forge

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

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
“Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze, 1851.

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

Dec. 26, 1776

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
The Death of General Montgomery December 31 1775

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