NEW YORK TRIBUNE, Dec. 17, 1861  The format of this title at this time was advertisements on the front page with the wealth of Civil War reporting on inside pages. 
The back page features a Civil War map headed: "SHIP ISLAND AND ITS SURROUNDINGS". Column heads include: "THE EXPEDITION TO SHIP ISLAND" "Unobstructed Landing" "Slavery in the District of Columbia" "Interesting From Port Royal" "The Expedition To Beaufort" "A Negro Battle" and much more.
Eight pages, never-trimmed margins, minimal margin wear, nice condition.

Background: The December 17, 1861, issue of the New York Tribune captures a transformative hinge point in the American Civil War, documenting the Union's shift from disorganized skirmishing to a sophisticated, multi-front naval and social strategy. The "Unobstructed Landing" at Ship Island was militarily vital, as it established the essential deep-water staging ground for Admiral David Farragut’s future capture of New Orleans, effectively beginning the strangulation of Confederate commerce in the Gulf. Simultaneously, the reports from Port Royal and Beaufort signify a profound social shift; as Union forces occupied the South Carolina Sea Islands, the "Port Royal Experiment" began, marking one of the first instances where the federal government had to address the status of "contraband" (formerly enslaved) people through labor and education. By highlighting "Slavery in the District of Columbia" alongside these military maneuvers, the Tribune—under Horace Greeley’s radical editorial lens—framed the conflict not just as a war for territory, but as an accelerating legislative and moral crusade against the institution of slavery.