December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is one of seven months with the length of 31 days. December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, December is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Northern hemisphere, which is the first month of summer. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
December symbols: Its birth flower is the narcissus. The birthstones of December are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite. The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius (until December 21) and Capricorn (December 22 onwards).
Historical Events for December, 1862
Day of Week 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.
Day of Week 7th » American Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
Day of Week 12th » USS e.g Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
Day of Week 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.
Day of Week 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.
Day of Week 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.
Day of Week 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)