Civil War Timeline / Chronology for December 1861

December 7, 1861	Stonewall Jackson destroys the West Virginia side of Dam Number 5 on the Potomac River, disrupting the C&O Canal and impacting the Union's ability to repair the B&O Railroad.	Maryland West Virginia
	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
	Attack on Dam Number 5
	Stonewall Jackson
December 9, 1861	Clement Vallandigham sends a resolution to Abraham Lincoln, asking for "all proclamations, or orders... relating to the pending contest"	Ohio
	Clement Vallandigham
	Abraham Lincoln
December 10, 1861	John T. Ford leases the First Baptist Church on 10th St. in Washington and turns it into a theater. Built in 1833, the church had been vacant since 1859, when the church merged with the nearby Fourth Baptist Church.
	Ford's Theater
December 13, 1861	Battle of Camp Allegany	West Virginia
	Operations in Western Virginia
December 13, 1861	In a cabinet meeting, Lincoln and Seward discuss Ohio Representative Clement Vallandigham.	Ohio
	Clement Vallandigham
December 19, 1861	Great Britain officially complains to the United States over the seizure of two Confederate commissioners
	Trent Affair
December 20, 1861	The Select Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is seated.
	Andrew Johnson
	Committee on the Conduct of the War
December 20, 1861	Battle of Dranesville	Virginia
	J. E. B. Stuart
	Edward O. C. Ord
	Samuel Garland
	Battle of Dranesville
December 21, 1861	Abraham Lincoln signs a bill creating the Navy Medal of Honor, America's first medal. It is to be presented to sailors or marines who "...distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities..."
	Abraham Lincoln
	Civil War Firsts
December 23, 1861	At a Cabinet meeting President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward present their response to the British note protesting the Trent Affair
	Abraham Lincoln
	Trent Affair
December 26, 1861	U. S. Secretary of State William Seward apologizes to Great Britain for the actions of the San Jacinto in the Bahama Channel.
	Trent Affair