The U.S.S. Commodore Barney was a 520-ton sidewheeler, built in New York City in 1859 and purchased for the Navy in 1861.  Along with two other naval units, the Sangomon and the Cohasset , she was making a reconnaissance up the James River in Virginia when she was struck by a river mine, then called a "torpedo", and badly damaged. Thirty of the 95-man crew where thrown overboard but only two sailors were lost.  She was taken under tow and, after repairs, resumed service until decommissioned in 1865.  (By John Osborne)

The 63 feet long Norwegian sloop Skjoldmoen became one of the smallest cargo vessels to complete a late spring crossing of the Atlantic when it delivered a cargo of salted herring and codfish to Chicago, Illinois.  She had left Bergen, in Norway, on April 11, 1863 under Captain Rathje Wesenberg and five crewmen and after a stormy crossing she came down the St. Lawrence River and crossed the lake to Chicago.  (By John Osborne)

Just after midnight a large Confederate force under General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, made a heavy attack on Donaldsonville, Louisiana on the western bank of the Mississippi.  The outnumbered defenders were close to losing possession of the neighboring Fort Butler but naval gunfire drove off the attack and the Union force lost only five dead and fourteen wounded. (By John Osborne)