Governor Andrew had authorized the raising of the 54th Massachusetts in March 1863 as one of the first official black units in the Union Army.  Recruits from all over the country had joined, including two sons of Frederick Douglass.The regiment trained at Fort Meigs near Boston and left for action in South Carolina on this day, parading through crowded city streets with their white commander, twenty-five year old Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, at their head.  Their most famous action, the bloody assault on Fort Wagner, was only two months away.  (By John Osborne)

 

French troops finally occupied Mexico City on June 7, 1863 after an eighteen month march from the sea. President Benito Jaurez and other government officials had abandoned the city the week before. General Elie Frédéric Forey entered the city in triumph three days later and preparations began for the setting up of complete French control under the eventual rule of Emperor Maximilian I.  (By John Osborne) 

Following the fall of the city of Puebla, Mexico City was now open to the French advance.  The Republican Congress met for the final time in the afternoon and voted a unanimous vote of confidence for President Benito Juarez before adjourning.  Juarez and other government officials abandoned the city the following day.  French troops finally occupied Mexico City on June 7, 1863 after an eighteen month campaign from the sea. General Elie Frédéric Forey entered the city in triumph three days later.  (By John Osborne) 

After more than two months of siege the Mexican city of Puebla surrendered to the French forces under General Elie Frédéric Forey.  More than 12,000 Juaristas were captured along with twenty-five Mexican generals.  Many officers were able to slip away in the confusion, including the garrison commander, Jésus Ortega, and future Mexican president Porfirio Diaz. The path to Mexico City was open for the French and two weeks later President Juarez abandoned the capital.  (By John Osborne)

In the early morning hours, after a forced night march, French troops under General François Bazaine struck the Mexican force of General Ingnacio Comonfort attempting to relieve the beseiged city of Puebla.  After a short battle, the Mexicans were defeated and the French captured the vital food supplies Comonfort was bringing. Peubla continued to starve and on May 17, 1863, surrendered, opening the path to Mexico City.  (By John Osborne) 

At Leipzig, in Saxony, Ferdinand Lasalle persuaded labor leaders from a dozen of Germany's largest industrial cities to found the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (Universal German Workers' Association), the nation's first worker's party. This group later formed part of the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, known today as the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Lasalle served as president of the new union until his death the following year in a duel fought over an affair of the heart.  (By John Osborne) 

Operating along the Mississippi under its commander General Alfred Ellet, landing troops where needed, the Marine Brigade harassed Confederate forces up and down the river.  Faced with elusive and mobile Confederate units and a resistant civilian population, Ellet often responded actively.  When one of his ships was fired on, he turned on the riverside town of Austin in Tunica County, Mississippi and burned it to the ground in retaliation, later justifying his action saying the town stored weapons and seized small trading vessels.  (By John Osborne)