Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott left New York City this day on a steamer bound for the northwest Pacific coastal island of San Juan.  He was charged there with representing the United States in a territorial dispute with the British, known as the "Pig War" from its advent in an argument over a pig, that had threatened to escalate into a unwanted military clash.  Cooler heads eventually prevailed and the islands were partitioned between the two powers.  (By John Osborne)

In imposing ceremonies that included an oration from Edward Everett, the new bronze statue of Daniel Webster was dedicated on the grounds of the state capitol in Boston, Massachusetts, facing Beacon Hill.  The sculptor was Hiram Powers, who was paid $10,000 for his work. (By John Osborne)

At the county fair in Albion, New York, a tightrope walker was performing on a rope slung between two building on either side of the Erie Canal that ran through the town.  More than five hundred people had gathered on the nearby Main Street Canal Bridge to watch.  The bridge collapsed, throwing scores of people into the canal.  Eighteen men, women, and children were drowned or crushed under falling masonry.  (By John Osborne)

German astronomer Robert Luther discovered from his observatory in Dusseldorf a minor planet he called Mnesosyne, after the Greek goddess of memory.  Now termed a large main belt asteroid, it measures around 112 kilometers in diameter. (By John Osborne)

H.M.S. Fox, a British naval vessel sent to the Arctic sixteen months before to discover the fate of the Franklin Expedition which disappeared without trace in 1848, arrived off the British coast with detailed and definitive information.  The next day, Captain F. McClintock of the Fox reported in London that Sir John Franklin, searching for a north-west passage around Canada to the Pacific, and all of his crews in two ships, had been trapped in the ice in late 1847 and that by late spring of 1848 all had died of starvation and exposure while attempting to reach civilization on foot. (By John Osborne)

Heavy rains brought flash flooding in eastern Pennsylvania, especially around Philadelphia on the Schuykill and Delaware Rivers and on the Lehigh River near Easton. Railway lines were damaged and several people were swept away and drowned before the flooding receded as quickly as it had risen.  (By John Osborne)

Following the upheaval in Italy of the war between Piedmont- Sardinia, France, and the Austrian Empire, the National Assembly of Palma and Piacenta voted unanimously on September 11, 1859 to expel the Bourbon dynasty.  On this day, the Assembly voted again, also unanimously, inviting Palma and Piacena's annexation by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.  A plebiscite was held in March 1860 and the annexation became official in 1861. (By John Osborne) 

Following the upheaval in Italy of the war between Piedmont- Sardinia, France, and the Austrian Empire, the National Assembly of Palma and Piacenta  voted unanimously to expel the Bourbon dynasty from the state.  The following day, the Assembly voted again, also unanimously, inviting Palma and Piacena's annexation by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.  (By John Osborne)