Birthdays
John Wesley Allen
Turns 23 on this date
Stephen Baker
Turns 42 on this date
Daniel Davidson Bidwell
Turns 42 on this date
John Horace Forney
Turns 32 on this date
Samuel Stehman Halderman
Turns 49 on this date
Conway Wing Hillman
Turns 5 on this date
John Rodgers
Turns 49 on this date
William Price Sanders
Turns 28 on this date
Events
| Science/Technology | Eliphalet Remington, founder of Remington Arms, dies in New York, aged sixty nine years | 08/12/1861 |
| Science/Technology | The Great Comet of 1861 visible to the naked eye over North America and Europe |
06/30/1861 to 08/15/1861 |
| Religion/Philosophy | With a presidential proclamation, Abraham Lincoln calls for a day of "humiliation, prayer, and fasting" | 08/12/1861 |