| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Washington, DC, a disastrous fire kills hundreds of horses at a government livery stables |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Philip St. George Cocke, Confederate general and veteran of Bull Run, shoots himself dead at his home in Virginia |
| Education/Culture |
|
Union Colonel James A. Mulligan, hero of the Battle of Lexington, speaks for a Catholic charity in Philadelphia |
| US/the World |
|
Off Mississippi, a U.S. Navy steamer collides with a French warship sent to evacuate citizens from New Orleans |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Powerful British warship wrecked on a reef in the Bahamas |
| Business/Industry |
|
Banks in New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia suspend payment in gold and silver |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
As the year closes, the armed forces of the United States reach a strength of more than 680,000 men |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
On the Mississippi Gulf coast, U.S. Navy units based at Ship Island capture the town of Biloxi |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Federal Income Tax takes effect in the United States |
| Personal |
-
|
Harriet Tubman works as a nurse for the Union Army in South Carolina |
| US/the World |
|
The United States releases the Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell into British custody |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In South Carolina, a Confederate steamer easily avoids the U.S. Navy and enters the blockaded port of Charleston |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Fatal railway accident in Northern Ireland |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
At Hampton, Virginia, two hundred and forty exchanged Union prisoners reach Fort Monroe |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In western Virginia, the Confederate "Stonewall Brigade" occupies Bath in Morgan County |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Confederate artillery shells Hancock, Maryland, firing across the Potomac from Morgan County, Virginia |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
The second hanging of an Army of the Potomac soldier takes place north of Washington DC |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
The central square of Dover, New Hampshire is heavily damaged in a morning fire |
| US/the World |
-
|
France, Britain, and Spain land troops at the Mexican port of Vera Cruz to enforce debt payments |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Union troops defeat Confederate units in a brief skirmish at Blue's Gap in western Virginia |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
South of Chicago, an express hits the back of a local commuter train, killing one and injuring many more |
| US/the World |
|
The U.S.S. Tuscarora moors in Southampton Water, a mile from the Confederate commerce Nashville |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
In Annapolis, Unionist Augustus Bradford is sworn in as the 32nd Governor of Maryland |
| US/the World |
|
The news of the release of Slidell and Mason reaches the British Isles |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee votes to expel Missouri Senators Waldo Johnson and Trusten Polk |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
In Sacramento, Republican railway builder Leland Stanford becomes the eighth governor of California |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The United States Senate expels Missouri Senators Waldo Johnson and Trusten Polk for treason |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In eastern Kentucky, future U.S. President James A. Garfield wins a small but important Union victory |
| Personal |
|
Multi-millionaire inventor and businessman Samuel Colt dies at his estate in Connecticut |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Secretary of War Simon Cameron resigns and is appointed minister to Russia |
