British Government had set up a test case over the sale of British-built ships to the Confederacy with the seizure of the schooner Alexandra, recently completed in Liverpool. The trial opened at the Court of the Exchequer in London but, to the consternation of British and United States authorities, the Crown was unable to win a weak case and four days later the verdict was for the release of the Alexandra. (By John Osborne)

Following the exploits of the British-built commerce raiders Alabama and Florida, the British Government moved to proceed with a test case involving the three-masted schooner Alexandra, recently completed in Liverpool and rumored to be bound for the Confederacy.  Customs officials seized the vessel under the Foreign Enlistment Act.  The case went to a four-day trial in London on June 22, 1863 that the Crown lost. (By John Osborne)

Before the afternoon cavalry fighting near Gettysburg on the third day of the battle, Captain William E. Miller's Troop "H" of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry had been ordered to hold its position.  When the clash with Wade Hampton's Confederate horsemen began in earnest, Miller gauged the situation and disregarding his orders, mounted his troop and struck Hampton's left flank, helping to disrupt his advance. Captain Miller, from nearby Cumberland County, was eventually awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his act of initiative.  (By John Osborne)  

Despite being placed under arrest for insubordination that very morning, Colonel Luigi di Cesnola, a Piedmontese immigrant nobleman and head of the 4th New York Infantry, led three charges against entrenched Confederate positions, reportedly without his sidearms, during the Battle of Aldie in Virginia. He was wounded and captured in a final charge and spent nine months in captivity in Richmond.  He was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and became the first professional director of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.  (By John Osborne)