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Events and People Who Made History in the Year 1863 AD
January
January 1: 1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebr
January 1: Battle of Galveston, Texas-Confederates recapture the city
January 1: Battle of Helena, AK
January 1: Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln
January 1: Franz Schuberts "Missa Solemnis," premieres in Leipzig
January 1: President Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful
January 2: Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River) ends
January 4: 4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY
January 10: 1st underground railway opens in London
January 10: General McClernand's Union troops surround Fort Hindman Ark
January 10: January-uprising begins in Poland
January 10: London's 1st subway opens
January 11: Naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama and USS Hatteras
January 11: Union forces capture Arkansas Post, or Ft. Hindman, Arkansas
January 12: President Davis delivers his "State of Confederacy" address
January 13: Chenille manufacturing machine patented by William Canter, New York City
January 13: Thomas Crapper pioneers one-piece pedestal flushing toilet
January 14: Battle between gunboats at Bayou Teche Louisiana
January 15: 1st U.S. newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal
January 17: Civil War skirmish near Newtown, Virginia
January 19: General Mieroslawski appointed dictator of Poland
January 21: City of Dublin leases part of Cattle Market for 100,000 years
January 22: Union General Burnside's "Mud March"
January 25: Battle of Kinston, NC
January 25: General Joseph Hooker replaces Burnside as head of Army of Potomac
January 26: 54th Regiment (Black) infantry forms
January 26: War Department authorizes Mass governor to recruit black troops
January 29: Battle at Bear River, Washington: U.S. Army vs indians
January 31: 1st black Civil War regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, mustered into U.S. army
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February
February 2: Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time
February 9: Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane
February 10: 1st U.S. fire extinguisher patent granted to Alanson Crane, Virginia
February 10: P. T. Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb and Mercy Lavinia Warren (New York City)
February 24: Arizona Territory created
February 24: Forrest's raid on Brentwood, Tennessee
February 25: Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency
February 26: Lincoln signs National Currency Act
February 28: Confederate raider "Nashville" sinks near Fort McAllister Georgia
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March
March 2: Congress authorizes track width of 4'8" for Union Pacific Railroad
March 3: 1st U.S. wartime military conscription bill enacted
March 3: Abraham Lincoln approves charter for National Academy of Sciences
March 3: Congress authorizes a U.S. mint at Carson City, Nevada
March 3: Federal ironclad ships bomb Fort McAllister Georgia
March 3: Free city delivery replaces zone postage; 449 letter carriers hired
March 3: Gold certificates (currency) authorized by Congress
March 3: Idaho Territory forms
March 3: Lincoln approves charter for National Academy of Sciences
March 4: Battle of Thompson's Station, Tennessee
March 4: Territory of Idaho established
March 17: Battle of Kelly's Ford, Virginia (211 casualities)
March 20: Battle of Pensacola Florida - evacuated by Federals
March 21: Naval Engagement at Havana Cuba-USS Henrick Hudson vs BR Wild Pigeon
March 25: 1st Army Medal of Honor awarded
March 25: Skirmish at Brentwood Tennessee
March 26: Voters in West Virginia approve gradual emancipation of slaves
March 27: President Davis calls for this to be a day of fasting and prayer
March 30: Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Sleeswok-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg chosen as king George of Greece
March 31: Battle of Grand Gulf MS and Dinwiddie Court House VA
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April
April 1: 1st wartime conscription law in U.S. goes into effect
April 2: Bread revolt in Richmond Virginia
April 7: Battle of Charleston, South Carolina, failed Federal fleet attack on Fort Sumter
April 10: Rebel General Earl Van Dorn attacks at Franklin, Tennessee
April 11: Battle of Suffolk, Virginia (Norfleet House)
April 13: Battle of Irish Bend, Louisiana (Ft. Bisland)
April 13: Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled in New York is 1st orthopedic hospital
April 14: William Bullock patents continuous-roll printing press
April 17: R Grierson's: La Grange, Tennessee to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
April 19: Union troops/fleet occupy For Huger, Virginia
April 21: Declaration of Baha'u'llah; Baha'i Feast of Ridvan (Jalal 13, 20)
April 24: Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham, Mississippi (Grierson's Raid)
April 27: Battle of Streight's raid: Tuscumbia to Cedar Bluff, AL
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May
May 1: Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia (29,000 injured or died)
May 1: Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
May 1: Confederate "National Flag" replaces "Stars and Bars"
May 1: Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
May 2: South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
May 2: Stonewall Jackson attacks Chancellorsville, wounded by his own men
May 3: Battle of Chancellorsville - Beaten Union army withdraws
May 3: Battle of Fredricksburg, Virginia (Marye's Heights)
May 3: Battle of Salem Church, Virginia
May 4: Battle of Chancellorsville - action at Salem Church
May 4: End of Chancellorsville - Beaten Union army withdraws
May 5: Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi
May 5: Joe Coburn KOs Mike McCoole for U.S. boxing title in 63rd round
May 8: Confederacion Granadina becomes Estados Unidos de Colombia
May 12: Battle of Raymond, Mississippi
May 14: Battle of Jackson, Mississippi
May 16: Battle of Champion's Hill, MS-bloodiest action of Vicksburg Campaign
May 17: Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
May 18: Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi
May 19: Siege of Vicksburg, investment of city complete
May 21: Siege on Port Hudson, Louisiana begins
May 22: General Grant begins siege on Vicksburg
May 22: War Department establishes Bureau of Colored Troops
May 27: CSS Chattahoochie explodes on Chattahoochie River GA, 18 die
May 27: Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana
May 28: 1st black regiment (54 Mass) leaves Boston to fight in Civil War
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June
June 2: Harriet Tubman leads Union guerrillas into Maryland, freeing slaves
June 5: Battle of Franklin's Crossing, Virginia, Deep Run
June 5: CSS "Alabama" captures "Tailsman" in Mid Atlantic
June 6: Battle of Milliken's Bend, LA and Williamsport, MD
June 7: Battle of Milliken's Bend, Louisiana - Jefferson Davis' home burnt
June 7: Mexico City captured by French troops
June 9: Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia, Fleetwood, Beverly Ford
June 10: Battle of Brice's Crossroads, Miss; Forrest w/3500 defeats 8000 Feds
June 13: Battle of Winchester, Virginia
June 13: Samuel Butler publishes 1st part of "Erewhon," Christchurch, New Zealand
June 13: Skirmish at Berryville Virginia
June 14: Battle of 2nd Winchester, Virginia
June 15: 2nd battle at Winchester Va, ends in Federal defeat; 1350 casualities
June 17: Battle at Middleburg, Virginia
June 17: Battle of Aldie, Confederates fail to drive back Union in Virginia
June 17: Naval Engagement at Warsaw Sound GA-USS Weehawken vs CSS Atlanta
June 17: Travelers Insurance Co of Hartford chartered, 1st accident insurer
June 18: After long neglect, Confederates hurriedly fortify Vicksburg
June 19: Battle at Middleburg Virginia, 100+ casualties
June 20: 1st bank chartered in U.S., National Bank of Davenport, Iowa
June 20: Skirmish at Greencastle Pennsylvania
June 20: West Virginia admitted as 35th U.S. state
June 21: Battle at Upperville Virginia, 389 casualities
June 23: Tullahoma campaign, Tennessee
June 24: Planning an invasion of Pennsylvania, Lee's army crosses Potomac
June 25: U.S. General George Meade replaces General Hooker to be more aggressive
June 27: Skirmish at Fairfax (Courthouse) Virginia
June 29: Battle at Westminster Maryland: Federal assault
June 29: George A. Custer (23) appointed Union Brigadier-General
June 29: Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
June 29: Very 1st First National Bank opens in Davenport, Iowa
June 30: Battles in Hanover Pennsylvania: 80 casualties
June 30: Dutch colony Suriname counts population of 33,000 slaves
June 30: Skirmish at Sporting Hill, Pennsylvania
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July
July 1: Battle at Baltimore: Crump's Crossroads Virginia
July 1: Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Lee's northward advance halted
July 1: Free city delivery of mail begins in 49 U.S. cities; postage 3 cents per oz
July 1: Slavery abolished in Suriname and Netherlands Antilles
July 2: Battle of Gettysburg (2nd day)
July 3: Battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania ends, major victory for North
July 4: Boise, Idaho founded (now capital of Idaho)
July 4: Failed Confederate assault on Helena Arkansas (640 casualties)
July 4: General Lee's army withdraws from Gettysburg
July 4: Skirmish at Smithburg, Tennessee
July 4: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces
July 5: Battle of Jackson, Mississippi and Battle of Birdsong Ferry, Mississippi
July 6: Northern Territory passes from New South Wales to South Australia
July 7: 1st military draft by U.S., exemptions cost $100
July 7: Orders barring Jews from serving under U.S. Grant are revoked
July 9: Union troops enter Port Hudson
July 11: Japanese battle cruiser shoots at Dutch warship Medusa, kills 4
July 13: Anti-draft mobs lynch blacks in New York City; about 1,000 die
July 13: Battle of Bayou La Fourche, Louisiana
July 14: Battle of Falling Waters, MD (Beaver Creek)
July 14: Jews of Holstein Germany granted equality
July 15: President Davis orders service duty for confederate army
July 16: Utrecht-Swells railway opens
July 17: Battle of Honey Springs - largest battle in Indian Territory
July 18: Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina - Second assault US1500 CS174
July 19: Battle of Buffington's Island (St. George Creek), Ohio
July 23: Alexandra Park opens in North London
July 24: Battle at Battle Mountain, Virginia
July 25: Skirmish at Barbee's Crossroads, Virginia
July 26: Battle of Salineville OH, John Hunt Morgan and 364 troops surrender
July 30: President Lincoln issues "eye-for-eye" order to shoot a rebel prisoner for every black prisoner shot
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August
August 1: Battle of Little Rock AK and Start of Chattanooga campaign
August 1: Cavalry action near Brandy Station-End of Gettysburg Campaign
August 3: Governor Seymour asks Lincoln to suspend draft in New York
August 3: Saratoga Racetrack, New York, opens
August 11: Cambodia becomes French protectorate
August 12: 1st cargo of lumber leaves Burrard Inlet (Vancouver, BC area)
August 15: Submarine "HL Hunley" arrives in Charleston on railroad cars
August 16: Chickamauga campaign GA
August 16: Emancipation Proclamation signed
August 17: Federal batteries and ships attacked Fort Sumter in SC
August 17: Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta), Tennessee
August 21: Raid at Lawrence KS by William Quantrill
August 26: Battle of Rocky Gap WV (White Sulphur Springs)
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September
September 1: 6th Ohio Cavalry ambush at Barbees Crossroads Virginia
September 1: Federal troops reconquer Fort Smith Arkansas
September 1: RR and ferry connection between San Francisco and Oakland inaugurated
September 5: Bread revolt in Mobile Alabama
September 6: After 59 day siege, confederates evacuate Ft. Wagner, SC
September 6: Confederate troops vacate Fort Wagner South Carolina (1700 casualties)
September 7: Federal naval expedition arrives off Sabine Pass
September 8: Battle of Sabine Pass TX: 47 Texas volunteers repel Federal forces
September 8: Federal troops reconquer the Cumperland Gap, Tennessee
September 9: Battle of Cumberland Gap, TN
September 10: George Bizets opera "Les Pacheurs de Perles," premieres in Paris
September 17: Pope Pius IX encyclical On persecution in New Grenada
September 19: Battle of Chickamauga Georgia (near Chattanooga) begins; Union retreat
September 20: Civil War Battle of Chickamauga, near Chattanooga Tennessee, ends
September 21: Union forces retreat to Chattanooga after defeat at Chickamauga
September 23: Confederate siege of Chattanooga begins
September 27: Jo Shelby's cavalry in action at Moffat's Station, Arkansas
September 29: Opera "Pescatori di Perle" is produced (Paris)
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October
October 1: 5 Russian warships welcomed in New York City
October 1: Dutch Breda-Tilburg railway opens
October 3: Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day
October 5: Confederate sub David damages Union ship Ironsides
October 6: Battle at Baxter Springs Kansas
October 6: Dr. Charles H Sheppard opens 1st public bath, in Brooklyn
October 9: Battle of Brady Station, Virginia (Culpeper Court House, Bristoe Station)
October 10: Skirmish at Blue Springs, Tennessee (166 casualties)
October 11: Skirmish at Rheatown/Henderson's Mill, Tennessee
October 13: Skirmish at Blountsville, Tennessee (50 casualties)
October 14: Battle at Bristoe Station Virginia (about 2000 casualties)
October 14: Skirmish at Catlett's Station, Virginia (Bristoe Campaign)
October 15: Cliff House opens in San Francisco (1st of many on site)
October 16: Grant is given command of Union forces in West
October 18: Battle of Charlestown, West Virginia
October 19: Battle of Buckland Mills, VA
October 26: Football Association forms in England, standardizing soccer
October 26: Soccer rules standardized; rugby starts as a separate game
October 26: Worldwide Red Cross organized in Geneva
October 27: Dutch railway to Harlingen opens
October 28: Battle at Wauhatchie Georgia: 865 killed or injured
October 29: International Comm of Red Cross forms (Nobel 1917, 1944, 1963)
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November
November 1: Averell's Raid (on)to Lewisburg, West Virginia
November 1: Fortifications built on Angel Island (SF Bay) by troops
November 3: Battle of Grand Coteau, Louisiana
November 7: Battle of Rappahannock Station and Kelly's Ford, VA
November 14: Bedford Forrest is assigned to command of West Tennessee
November 14: Skirmish at Danville, Mississippi
November 16: Battle of Campbell's Station TN, 492 casualities
November 17: Lincoln begins 1st draft of his Gettysburg Address
November 19: Lincoln delivers his address in Gettysburg; "4 score and 7 years..."
November 23: Battle of Chattanooga and Orchard Knob, Tennessee begins
November 23: Patent granted for a process of making color photographs
November 24: Battle of Chattanooga, Columbia and Lookout Mountain begins in Tennessee
November 25: Battle of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee
November 27: Battle at Fort Esperanza Texas
November 27: Battle of Payne's Farm, VA
November 29: Battle of Ft. Sanders, Tennessee (Ft. Loudon), 8-900 casualities
November 30: Confederate troops vacate Fort Esperanza, Texas
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December
December 3: Longstreet abandons his siege at Knoxville, TN
December 4: Storm flood ravages Netherlands coastal provinces
December 8: 2,500 reported killed at Church of La Compana, Santiago Chile
December 8: Abraham Lincoln announces plan for Reconstruction of South
December 8: Jesuit church in Chile catches fire, 2,500 die in panic
December 8: President Lincoln offers amnesty for confederate deserters
December 14: Battle of Bean's Station-Confederacy repulses Union in Tennessee
December 15: Skirmish at Bean's Station, Tennessee (Knoxville Campaign)
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