Birthdays
John Herman Bosler
Turns 31 on this date
Erastus Corning
Turns 67 on this date
David Flavel Jamison
Turns 51 on this date
Joseph Lane
Turns 60 on this date
John Mercer Langston
Turns 32 on this date
James Alfred Pearce
Turns 56 on this date
Francis Peyre Porcher
Turns 36 on this date
Events
| Battles/Soldiers | At Fort Bliss, Confederate Brigadier-General Henry Sibley takes command of the "Army of New Mexico" | 12/14/1861 |
| US/the World | In Southampton harbor, the Confederate warship Nashville dips its flag in mourning for Prince Albert | 12/14/1861 |
| US/the World | In Vietnam, French forces under Rear Admiral Louis-Adolph Bonard besiege and capture Bien-Hoa |
12/14/1861 to 12/18/1861 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | In Wheeling, the elected West Virginia convention is meeting to write a constitution for the new state |
11/26/1861 to 02/18/1862 |
| US/the World | Prince Albert, husband and consort of Queen Victoria dies at Windsor Castle, aged forty-two | 12/14/1861 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | The second session of the 37th Congress is sitting in Washington, DC |
12/03/1861 to 07/16/1862 |
Documents
| Letter | Abraham Lincoln to Arnold Fischel, December 14, 1861 | 12/14/1861 |
| Newspaper | Alexandria (VA) Local News, “Runaway and Serious Accident,” December 14, 1861 | 12/14/1861 |