The U.S. Mail Steamship Company vessel S.S. Central America was lost in an Atlantic hurricane off the coast of North Carolina, the greatest sea disaster in the nation's history to that point.  Remarkably, all women and children aboard survived but 423 male passengers and crew died.  Also lost in the disaster was a massive amount of gold specie being shipped to California to the East Coast banks and this put further strain on an already nervous economy. (By John Osborne)

Eighteen New York City banks suspended operations as financial panic took hold.  The remainder of the banks in the city agreed that night to join them. (By John Osborne)

Unemployment and unrest were considered so high in New York City following the financial panic that the government dispatched soldiers and marines under General Winfield Scott to protect the U.S. Customs House there. The facility was home to twenty million dollars in reserves. (By John Osborne)

South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks attacks and beats Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts in the Senate chamber. He causes significant injuries that will incapacitate the senator for months. This further enrages northern sentiment against the southern slave holding power. (By John Osborne)