Birthdays
George Gordon Meade
Turns 46 on this date
Jonathan Kenyon Peck
Turns 37 on this date
Noah Pinkney
Turns 15 on this date
Theodore Medad Pomeroy
Turns 37 on this date
Charles Shiels Wainwright
Turns 35 on this date
Alfred Newton Weir
Turns 21 on this date
Events
| Battles/Soldiers | As the year closes, the armed forces of the United States reach a strength of more than 680,000 men | 12/31/1861 |
| 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 |
| Battles/Soldiers | On the Mississippi Gulf coast, U.S. Navy units based at Ship Island capture the town of Biloxi | 12/31/1861 |
| 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 David Hunter, December 31, 1861 | 12/31/1861 |