The British-built Confederate raider C.S.S. Florida had claimed 37 prizes in its two-year career.  She was sheltering in neutral Brazilian water when a daring night attack from the U.S.S. Wachusett overwhelmed her skeleton crew and towed her out to sea.  This trigggered an international incident and the Union captain, Commander Napoleon Collins, was found guilty at court-martial. He was never punished and resumed his career as a hero. (By John Osborne)  

The Confederate warship Albemarle had been successful in defending Plymouth, North Carolina during much of 1864.  Lieutenant William Cushing, USN led a daring raid, under cover of darkness, with two steam cutters and twenty-two men, on the Albemarle at her moorings.  A massive hole was blown her side and she sank in six feet of water.  The Union boats were swamped and most of the raiders captured, though Cushing made a thrilling escape.  (By John Osborne)  

Officers from General Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah made a formal and public presentation of Confederate colors and cannon captured in western Virginia at the War Department in Washington, D.C..  Victories in the previous weeks were a boost to northern morale in the run-up to the general election.  Twenty-five year-old General George Custer led the delegation. His promotion to major-general was announced the same day.  (By John Osborne)