There had been rumors of French military incursions into Swiss territory during the slow build-up to the eventual war between Austria and the French Empire. The Swiss government on this day made its abundantly clear that it desired no involvement of any kind in the conflict and made it clear it would use force to defend both Switzerland's borders and its neutrality. (By John Osborne)

On this day, in the western part of Charleston, South Carolina, a mill and warehouse caught fire and were completely destroyed. Burned also were 80,000 bushels of rice. (By John Osborne)

A sudden onset of freezing temperatures struck the entire north-eastern United States beginning on this day. Temperatures of nine below zero were reported in New York City, said to be the coldest in seventy years. Sunrise temperatures stood at 26 below in Bangor, Maine, 21 below in Montpelier, Vermont, and 20 below in Buffalo, New York. Further south, in Philadelphia, the mercury stood at three below. (By John Osborne)

After a heated debate, the Louisville Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, meeting at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, voted to amend the rules of the church to permit slave-owning among its members. Church rules that had banned "the buying and selling of men, women, and children with an intention of enslaving them" were removed. The national division in the Methodist Church over slavery was by this time irreparable. (By John Osborne)

James D. Porter had been born in Portsmouth, Ohio but had lived most of his life in Kentucky. He had been of normal size as a child but shot up to his remarkable height after his seventeenth birthday. He opened and ran a coffee-house near Louisville on the Portland Canal. He became famous when Charles Dickens, during his visit to the United States, saw and wrote about him. He turned down all following offers of employment on the stage, including with P.T. Barnum, and died quietly in his sleep at his home near his business. (By John Osborne)

In reaction to the raid of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, a pro-slavery mob destroyed the offices of abolitionist William Shreve Bailey's newspaper, The New South, in Newport, Kentucky and wrecked the presses. The mob returned the next night to harass the Bailey family, including Bailey's daughters, who defended the press by throwing pots of paint on the mob.  After this mob action, Bailey received death threats but refused to leave the town and instead filed suit against the rioters. (By John Osborne)

At its annual convention, the Kentucky Democratic Party, with the supporters of Vice-President John C. Breckinridge in the ascendancy, passed their platform. The document endorsed the Dred Scott Decision, advocated the purchase of Cuba, and generally supported the policies of the Buchanan Administration on Kansas and other matters. (By John Osborne)

The New York Times reported the following: "The annual renting of the pews in Plymouth Church, (the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's,), Brooklyn, took place last evening, and drew a full house. The premium for the first choice was $160. The entire sum realized for the rents of the pews for one year was $24,642.50, being over $8000 more than the sum paid for the same seats for the year 1858. Many were unable to obtain pews. The sale closed at about 11 o'clock P.M., every seat being let." (By John Osborne)