What Happened in 1864 — Events, Births & Deaths

American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.

American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.

The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.

Rossini's Petite messe solennelle is first performed, by twelve singers, two pianists and a harmonium player in a mansion in Paris.

Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.

American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins: Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.

Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.

The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that permitted the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

American Civil War: In the Battle of Marks' Mills, a force of 8,000 Confederate soldiers attacks 1,800 Union soldiers and a large number of wagon teamsters, killing or wounding 1,500 Union combatants.

Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.

American Civil War: Confederate forces led by General E. Kirby Smith attack federal troops retreating across the Saline at Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas.

American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.

American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.

The world's oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.

Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.

American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the "Mule Shoe", with some of the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at "the Bloody Angle" on the northwest.

American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.

American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.

American Civil War: Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant sustain heavy casualties attacking Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia.

American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.

American Civil War: The Second Battle of Petersburg begins.

American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins.

American Civil War: Confederate forces defeat Union forces during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Atlanta campaign.

At least 99 people, mostly German and Polish immigrants, are killed in Canada's worst railway disaster after a train fails to stop for an open drawbridge and plunges into the Rivière Richelieu near St-Hilaire, Quebec.

Ikedaya Incident: The Choshu Han shishis planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.

Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

American Civil War: In the Battle of Atlanta, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill outside Atlanta.

American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown: Confederate General Jubal Early defeats Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley.

American Civil War: In the Battle of Ezra Church, Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt under General John Bell Hood to prevent Union forces led by General William T. Sherman from approaching Atlanta, Georgia.

American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.

After Uruguay's governing Blanco Party refuses Brazil's demands, José Antônio Saraiva announces that the Brazilian military will begin reprisals, beginning the Uruguayan War.

American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern: Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.

Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention, establishing the rules of protection of the victims of armed conflicts.

American Civil War: The Battle of Jonesborough, alongside the overall Atlanta campaign, culminates in a Union victory for General William T. Sherman as Confederate General John Bell Hood orders the evacuation of Atlanta.

American Civil War: Union forces enter Atlanta as the city surrenders, ending the Atlanta campaign as a victory for General William T. Sherman.

American Civil War: Confederate calvary general John Hunt Morgan is ambushed and killed by Union troops during a surprise raid on Greeneville, Tennessee.

American Civil War: Union troops under Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by Jubal Early. With over 50,000 troops engaged, it was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm is fought in the American Civil War.

The Treaty of Lisbon defines the boundaries between Spain and Portugal and abolishes the Couto Misto microstate.

American Civil War: Confederates defeat a Union attack on Saltville, Virginia. A massacre of wounded Union prisoners ensues.

American Civil War: A US Navy ship captures a Confederate raider in a Brazilian seaport.

American Civil War: Union cavalrymen defeat Confederate forces at Toms Brook, Virginia during Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley campaign.

American Civil War: The Union garrison of Glasgow, Missouri surrenders to Confederate forces.

American Civil War: The Battle of Cedar Creek ends the last Confederate threat to Washington, DC.

American Civil War: Confederate agents based in Canada rob three banks in Saint Albans, Vermont.

American Civil War: A large contingent of Confederate troops participating in Price's Missouri Expedition are captured by Union forces during the Battle of Mine Creek, the largest battle fought in Kansas and one of the largest cavalry engagements of the war.

American Civil War: Union General Benjamin Butler launches an attack during the Siege of Petersburg with the Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road, but is repulsed by the next day.

American Civil War: In East Tennessee, Union forces under General Alvan C. Gillem rout Confederate troops under General John C. Vaughn during the Battle of Morristown.

Second War of Schleswig: The Treaty of Vienna is signed, by which Denmark relinquishes one province each to Prussia and Austria.

Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

American Civil War: Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars in materiel at the Battle of Johnsonville.

American Civil War: A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.

Colorado War: Colorado volunteers led by Colonel John Chivington massacre at least 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho noncombatants at Sand Creek inside Colorado Territory.

American Civil War: The Confederate Army of Tennessee misses an opportunity to crush the Union Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Spring Hill during the Franklin–Nashville campaign.

American Civil War: The Confederate Army of Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of the Ohio under General John Schofield in the Battle of Franklin.

Pope Pius IX promulgates the encyclical Quanta cura and its appendix, the Syllabus of Errors, outlining the authority of the Catholic Church and condemning various liberal ideas.

American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: The Second Battle of Fort McAllister ends with the fort being seized by Union forces under General William B. Hazen, threatening the city of Savannah with investment.

American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas.

American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville ends as the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas routs and destroys the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, ending its effectiveness as a combat unit.