On the banks of the River Thames in London, an inauguration ceremony was held to mark the commencement of the significant public works that would construct the Victoria Embankment on the north side of the river below the Houses of Parliament, from Westminster Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge. A western section in Chelsea, above Parliament had been completed earlier, in 1862. The entire project claimed significant marsh land from the Thames.  A further goal was the overall cleanup of the river waters themselves. (By John Osborne) 

The wealthy John Lancaster and his family had sailed in their 190 ton steam yacht, Deerhound, from Cherbourg to observe the battle between the U.S.S. Kearsarge and the C.S.S. Alabama.  Following the one hour battle, the Deerhound steered in to pick up Captain Raphael Semmes, thirteen of his officers, and twenty six sailors from the water.  Lancaster took them at full speed to Southampton and landed them there, ensuring that Semmes and the others escaped U.S. Navy custody as well as drowning. (By John Osborne)

At around eight o'clock in the evening, a train filled with racing enthusiasts just returning from the meeting at Ascot and the running of the Gold Cup was delayed at the Egham Railway Station for a few minutes. A second special train for the races, similarly filled, ran into the back of the waiting train, crushing the last three cars.  Five men were killed and a further twenty-five suffered serious injuries. The driver and fireman of the second train were later found guilty of manslaughter.  (By John Osborne)  

The eighty-fifth running of the Derby at Epson took place before a crowd of around 150,000, including the Prince of Wales.  The mile and a half race began forty-five minutes late due to the number of false starts but eventually Blair Athol, ridden by J. Snowden, timed at just under two minutes and forty-four seconds, beat General Peel, the betting favorite, by two lengths, with Scottish Chief a further three lengths behind. (By John Osborne)  

After Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert had died suddenly in 1861, there had been no official celebration of the Queen's Birthday with all of its ceremony.  This year many of the celebrations returned, if still somewhat muted, including the traditional "Trooping of the Colour" by the royal household troops held in Whitehall.  Queen Victoria would continue her self imposed mourning, however, for many more years. (By John Osborne)  

In central London, just after nine in the morning, on the new Metropolitan Underground Railway, a locomotive exploded while standing in the station at Bishop's Road.  The force blew the engine's boiler through the roof of the station to land next to a pub called the Dudley Arms two hundred yards away.  Few people were on the platform and the crew had a lucky escape.  Just a few people suffered cuts from flying glass and were taken to hospital nearby.  (By John Osborne)  

Michael Hahn, a former school official, Democrat, Republican Congressman, and friend of Abraham Lincoln, had been elected as the first post-Confederate governor of Louisiana, winning 54% of the vote. A moderate Republican, he made strong efforts to reform African-American voting rights, as well as black education.  He served only a year, ran for the U.S. Senate in 1865, and resigned as governor when elected.  (By John Osborne) 

Elements of the Army of the Tennessee under General Andrew Jackson Smith, with naval support, sortied against Shreveport up the Red River.  The formidable Fort De Russy stood in their way but a determined and swift evening Union attack by units under General Mower stormed the fort in just twenty minutes.  The Confederate garrison of around 300 was captured and the Union assault lost forty-eight men killed or wounded.  (By John Osborne)  

The celebrated former alleged blockade runner Peterhoff, now purchased and commissioned into the United States Navy, was patrolling off Wilminigton, North Carolina when the U.S.S. Monticello mistook her for an active Confederate vessel and engaged her.  Discovering her mistake too late, she rammed the Peterhoff, which sank in fifteen minutes.  This gave time for all hands to be saved and no casualties resulted.  (By John Osborne)