Senator Stephen Douglas was making a political tour of the east after his victory in the Illinois Senate elections. At the invitation of the Democratic elites of the city, he had been feted for three days in New York City. A delegation of Philadelphia Democrats, let by John Forney, came to New York to escort the Senator to his next stop and the party left for Philadelphia by steamship. The party arrived in Philadelphia later that evening in a heavy snowstorm. (By John Osborne)