An overnight fire completely destroyed the newly completed First Presbyterian Church in Binghampton, New York.  The new Romanesque church was to have accomodated 1200 people, had a tower 220 feet tall, and was scheduled for dedication the following Sunday.  The fire broke out in the old wooden church nearby and spread to the new structure while firefighting efforts were hampered by a frozen water supply.  A rebuilt church was dedicated in April 1863.  (By John Osborne)

A fire in the evening completely destroyed the Union Church on High Street in Portland, Maine.  No injuries were reported but the damage was estimated to run to $30,000.  (By John Osborne)  

A troop train carrying much of the 94th New York Volunteer Infantry, including their band, hit a broken rail on the Hudson River Railroad near Tivoli, New York.  Five cars were pitched into the river and the entire train derailed. Five soldiers, a recruit and four enlisted men from Company G, were killed and around a dozen others injured.  The band lost all its instruments.  The regiment reached New York the next day and then went on to service in Virginia.  (By John Osborne)

Senator Lazarus Powell of Kentucky had remained in the U.S. Senate at the outbreak of war, despite calls from his home state and elsewhere for him to resign.  He remained a critic of the administration throughout the war.  An attempt to remove him from office failed when a resolution stating that he had "assisted in seducing citizens into rebellion and treason" was defeated on a vote of 11 to 28.  His fellow senator from Kentucky, Garret Davis, was the only Democrat to vote for the resolution.  (By John Osborne) 

United State Navy vessels carried out harassing action against the Confederate batteries defending Aquia Creek Landing, an important ferry hub in northern Virginia on a tributary of the Potomac. The Confederate command had already decided to abandon the port and had been withdrawing its garrison and their batteries.  All day, the U.S.S. Yankee, U.S.S. Anacostia, and U.S.S. Island Belle, shelled shore positions.  Little damage was observed and no Union ship was hit.  (By John Osborne)