December 1861 saw a continuing fraught relationship between the
president, Abraham Lincoln, and the man he appointed as overall
commander of the North's army, General McClellan. Lincoln
continued to question the timidity of McClellan's approach while
McClellan continued with his assertion that if got it wrong, the
whole of the North could suffer as a consequence. December 1st:
President Lincoln expressed his concern to General McClellan
that the Unionist armies did not seem to be doing anything
substantial. December 2nd: Congress gave its permission for the
suspension of habeas corpus in Missouri. December 3rd: Lincoln
gave his State of the Union address to Congress. The Union
started its move against New Orleans when ‘USS Constitution’
arrived at Ship Island at the mouth of the Mississippi River
carrying the 26th Massachusetts Regiment. December 4th: Great
Britain announced an embargo on all exports to the US December
5th: The Secretary of War announced that Unionist strength stood
at 660,971 men of whom 640