A powerful Union naval force under Admiral David Farragut attempted to destroy the Confederate fortifications at Port Hudson, Louisiana on the Mississippi.  Farragut opened a fierce bombardment just before midnight and CSA batteries answered. Several Union ships were hit and the U.S.S. Mississippi destroyed. After three hours the engagement broke off. Port Hudson would have to be taken by land attack or siege. U.S. Navy units did break past the fortress upriver, however. (By John Osborne)  

In April, 1863, Emperor Napoleon III had been dismayed at the huge number of entries rejected by the Salon de Paris judges accepting entries for the annual exhibition of new art. He ordered that a showing of some of the rejected art be made. The result was the famous "Salon des Refusés" at the Elysée Palace that included the first public showing of the revolutionary and controversial canvas Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe by Edouard Manet. This work and others shown there influenced from then on the direction of modern art. (By John Osborne)