Dec. 3, 1861: Union troops under Gen. John Phelps lands on Ship Island just off the coast of Mississippi in the Gulf, in preparation for a an operation against New Orleans.
William Howard Russell, famed correspondent of the London Times, records in his journal:
"I dined with Mr. Cameron, Secretary-of-War, where I met Mr. Forney, Secretary of the Senate; Mr. House, Mr. Wilkeson, and others, and was exceedingly interested by the shrewd conversation and candid manner of our host. He told me he once worked as a printer in the city of Washington, at ten dollars a week, and twenty cents an hour for extra work at the case on Sundays. Since that time he has worked onwards and upwards, and amassed a large fortune by contracts for railways and similar great undertakings. He says the press rules America, and that no one can face it and live; which is about the worst account of the chances of an honest longevity I can well conceive."
Union Army Surgeon Alfred L. Castleman records in his diary:
"What do our leaders mean to do with us this winter? Here we are, the 3d December, a cold, freezing, windy day, in our open tents, without intimation of what we are going to do— with no more preparation for winter quarters than we had a month ago. Are we to be kept in this condition all winter? We are getting tired of McClellan’s want of vim. How long is he going to be ‘getting ready?’ All is conjecture, except that the wind howls dreadfully around our tents this cold night."
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