1st » In his State of the Union Address President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.
7th » American Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
12th » USS e.g Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
13th » American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate States of America or Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats Union Army e.g Union Major General Ambrose Burnside.
17th » American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues 'General Order No. 11 (1862) named General Order No. 11', expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
26th » American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins.
26th » Four nuns serving as volunteer Nursing nurses on board USS Red Rover (1859) USS 'Red Rover' are the first female nurses on a List of US Navy hospital ships U.S. Navy hospital ship.
26th » The Dakota War of 1862 Execution called largest mass-hanging in U.S. history took place in Mankato, Minnesota, 38 Native Americans died.
31st » American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the United States known as Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.
31st » American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River begins near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Famous Birthdays on December in 1862
7th » Paul Adam (French novelist) known as Paul Adam, French author (d. 1920)
8th » Georges Feydeau, French playwright (d. 1921)
12th » André Fauquet-Lemaître, French polo player (d. 1943)
12th » J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (d. 1937)
22nd » Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (d. 1956)
Famous Deaths for December 1862
13th » Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, Confederate general killed during the battle of Fredericksburg (b. 1823)
20th » Robert Knox, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (b. 1791)