The legendary Illinois senator and presidential candidate Stephen Douglas died at his home in Chicago aged forty-eight.  The cause is usually attributed to typhoid but Douglas's heavy drinking and the recent draining campaign for the presidency that had left him in debt physically and financially must have been factors in his final illness.  He was buried in Chicago on the banks of Lake Michigan. (By John Osborne)

Secretary of War Simon Cameron had been under fire for some time over hints of corruption in his department.  He had also placed himself at odds with President Lincoln and others when the first drafts of his December 1861 report suggested the raising of black military units.  In the same letter accepting his resignation, Lincoln appointed him as ambassador to Russia.  Lincoln then appointed Edwin McMasters Stanton as Cameron's successor.  (By John Osborne)