Brevet Brigadier-General William N. Grier, the commander at the Carlisle Barracks outside Carlisle, Pennsylvania, had ordered his troops to stay away from the town on Election Day, fearing that the notorious antipathy between the soldiers and the Carlisle "roughs" would flare up in the excitement.  Adam J. Glossbrenner, the local Democratic congressman, heard of the restraint and complained directly to President Johnson by telegram, claiming that around twenty soldiers eligible to vote were being denied that right.  Although Grier explained his motivations, the retraints were immediately lifted and the day passed peacefully, unlike the following year, when a serious riot broke out involving soldiers on Election Day.  (By John Osborne)

Tensions between the "roughs" of Carlisle and the soldiers of the neighboring Carlisle Barracks had previously been confined to the bars and dance halls along the notorious East Louther Street but broke out in a serious armed conflict on Election Day in the center of the Pennsylvania town. A large group of armed soldiers appeared in the town square and when they were resisted exchanged extended gunfire with armed civilians before retreating back towards their quarters.  Two people were killed and around a dozen wounded.  No charges were ever brought on either side but the local commander, Brevet Brigadier-General William N. Grier,  restricted his troops to the Barracks from then on. (By John Osborne)

At four in the afternoon on this day, Abraham Lincoln's favorite author, Charles Farrar Browne, who wrote and performed under the name "Artemus Ward," died of tuberculosis at Southampton in England where he had been touring for several months. Only thirty-two years old at his death, he is considered to be the country's first "stand-up comedian," and was world famous for his stories and his humorous speeches on stage.  A close friend of Mark Twain and a prominent member of New York City's "Bohemian set," he was buried in London.  His remains have since been returned to his hometown of Waterford, Maine.  (By John Osborne)

Bound from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, the steamship Andalusia caught fire off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, burned to the waterline, and sank.  Most of the passengers and crew were able to take to the boats in relatively calm seas but eleven people were reported lost.  The 200 foot, 1000 ton Andalusia was a former U.S. Navy vessel, commissioned in May 1864 as the USS Inka but sold at the end of the war into civilian hands.  (By John Osborne)

The fugitive John Surratt, wanted in connection with the Lincoln Assassination conspiracy that had resulted in the conviction and execution of his mother, Mary Surratt, had been arrested in Alexandria, Egypt after almost two years on the run.  He was returned to the United States aboard the USS Swatara and landed this day, still wearing the uniform of the Pope in whose military he had enlisted,  at the U.S.Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. He was soon indicted for murder and on June 10, 1867 underwent trial for murder before a civilian federal court.  The result was a mistrial after a deadlocked jury and Surratt once again became a free man.  (By John Osborne)