Before Sherman made his name by marching to the sea in Georgia, he was one of Grant's cammanders in the west early in the war. On 29 December 1862, after 2 days of prpearations, Sherman attacked the Confederate positions at Chickasaw Bluffs as part of the attempt to take Vicksburg, Mississippi. It was a total failure for the Union and one of very few for Sherman. Sherman's was to have been a diversionary attack for Grant's main force to the east, but Grant was held up by Confederate cavalry cutting off his supplies.

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Try US 61 from Leland, Mississippi to Vicksburg to get a feel for the lowlands on the east side of the Mississippi River. This swampy low area is what made Vicksburg such a hard nut to crack.

Maps

On 29 December 1890, a group of Sioux, led by Bigfoot, arrived at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after hearing of Sitting Bull's death on 15 December. The resurgance of Indian spirituality in the form of the "Ghost Dance" was worrying the U.S. government agents in the area who feared violence. The attempt to disarm the Sioux descended into chaos that left nearly 200 Sioux, including many women and children, and 25 Cavalrymen dead. One can find many interpretations of the battle of Wounded Knee...many not calling it a battle, but a massacre. Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars of west, in much the same way as it started... duplicitousness, misunderstanding, confusion, chaos and death to many innocents and warriors on both sides.
Read a few different versions and decide for yourself;
"Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
Wikipedia
Bowling Green State University
Public Broadcasting Service

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Motorcycle Ride

Try South Dakota State Route 44 southeast out of Rapid city to Scenic. From Scenic, go south along bombing Range Road, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 27, Indian Service Road (ISR) 27, ISR-33 and finally Big Foot Trail to Wounded Knee. See map, here.

Maps

By 1862, the Union army had pentrated deep into the south in Tennessee. The Rebel army seemed incapable of stopping the southern push with force, so they decided to try to disrupt the Union's supply lines from Kentucky, namely the L&N railroad. The Confederates sent native Kentuckian General John Hunt Morgan.
Morgan launched a raid over the Christmas holidays and evaded capture and destruction from determined Union forces to destroy a critical bridge of the L&N.

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Motorcycle Ride

Try US 31E from Glasgow to Bardstown to follow some of the route Morgan took. Also Check out Lincoln's boyhood home and birthplace near Hodgenville.

Maps

On 22 December 1944, the German Army was near their zenith in the Battle of the Bulge and had surrounded the town of Bastogne, a key road hub of the area. The USA 101st Airborne had control of the town, but had no support. The German Army sent 2 officers and 2 NCOs to deliver the ulimatum to surrender, but were met with the reply of 101st acting commander General Anthony McAuliffe of "NUTS!" A source of great pride in the 101st forever more, McAuliffe's response has gone down in history as possibly the 2nd best defiance of a surrender request. Molon Labe being the undisputed best.

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Motorcycle Ride

Try the N84 southeast out of Bastogne to the Luxembourg border where the road continues as the N15 to Ettelbrook.

Maps

General Patton died this day in 1945* after an automobile accident on December 9th 1945. He was buried amongst the dead of the Battle of the Bulge on Christmas Eve 1945.

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Motorcycle Ride

Check out this ride in Luxembourg, then head down to the US military cemetary in Luxembourg.

Maps

*"Old Blood and Guts" dies, http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6650 (last visited Dec 21, 2006).