Birthdays
William Burton
Turns 72 on this date
John Francis Chaplain
Turns 37 on this date
Thomas Turpin Crittenden
Turns 36 on this date
William Howard Day
Turns 36 on this date
William Pitt Fessenden
Turns 55 on this date
James Hamilton
Turns 68 on this date
John Winfield Scott Kough
Turns 24 on this date
Francis Richard Lubbock
Turns 46 on this date
Isaac Murphy
Turns 58 on this date
Events
| US/the World | Confederate diplomats James Mason and John Slidell slip through the Charleston blockade bound for Europe | 10/16/1861 |
| Education/Culture | In New York City, the Bellevue Hospital Medical College opens its first regular term | 10/16/1861 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | The Confederate Post Office issues its first postage stamps, bearing the likeness of Jefferson Davis | 10/16/1861 |