December 17, 1863---Blockade runners

DECEMBER 17, 1863:        

Confederate spies, having captured the passenger vessel S.S. CHESAPEAKE, are going to try to run it through the Wilmington, N.C. naval blockade. The ship is captured by Union gunboats while coaling in Nova Scotia waters. It is estimated that out of the sixty-six blockade-runners making regular trips in and out of Wilmington during the war, forty were captured or destroyed, but only after a successful career for a shorter or longer period. 

December 16, 1863---"Sul" Ross takes command in south Texas

DECEMBER 16, 1863:        

Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the future Governor of Texas and eventual President of Texas A & M, is promoted to Brigadier General (C.S.A.) after taking command of the South Texas Brigade (afterward known as “Ross’ Brigade”). Ross’ Brigade fought with distinction during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864. “Sul” Ross is probably best remembered as the man who captured Cynthia Parker. Parker, a Euro-American, had been captured (at age 9) by the Comanche Indians under Chief Niconah, with whom she had a son, the famous scout Quanah Parker, who eventually became a Chief of the Comanches in his own right. There is no evidence that Cynthia Parker ever chose to leave her Comanche husband and child.  

December 15, 1863---Great Britain Cancels the Confederacy's Contracts

DECEMBER 15, 1863:         

The British Crown orders cancellation of any and all work on Confederate projects in Great Britain and Ireland and in other British dependencies. Elsewhere in Europe, under pressure from U.S. interests, contractors begin to follow the British lead.

December 14, 1863---The Battle of Bean's Station, TN

DECEMBER 14, 1863:        

The Battle of Bean’s Station, Tennessee. Union forces attack units of General James Longstreet’s army, still in transit from Knoxville to Greenville. A sharp engagement ensues that costs both sides nearly 1000 men each. Although the Confederates are able to drive off the Federals, they do not have the resources to pursue them. Bloodied, Longstreet’s men encamp at Russellville. 

December 13, 1863---A Confederate Widow In The White House

DECEMBER 13, 1863:        

Emilie Todd Helm, the widow of General Benjamin Hardin Helm C.S.A., comes to Washington D.C. under flag of truce to visit her sister, Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States, for Christmas. Ben Helm had been Abraham Lincoln’s favorite brother-in-law, and Emilie is welcomed with open arms, although her visit is kept as secret as possible. Unfortunately, General Benjamin “Beast” Butler, in town for the holidays, belittles Mrs. Helm at a private White House dinner, and the incident is leaked to the Press by the embittered General Dan Sickles, retired, to that point a friend of Mrs. Lincoln’s. An uproar ensues. Demands are made that Emilie Helm swear a loyalty oath or be arrested as a rebel spy. The Lincolns are forced to spirit Emilie out of the North before a lynch mob appears on the White House steps. Emilie and Mary do not see each other again until well after the war ends, and of course, Emilie never sees the President again.