WHAT ALL HAPPENED AUGUST TO DECEMBER 1861
Find out what all happened August to December 1861

The Pony Express officially ceases operations. (26. October 1861)

American Civil War: Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. (27. August 1861)

American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America. (6. November 1861)

Forces led by Nguyen Trung Truc, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, sink the French lorcha L'Esperance. (10. December 1861)

Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. (21. December 1861)

American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive. (7. November 1861)

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C., for all military-related cases. (23. October 1861)

American Civil War: United States Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. (29. August 1861)

American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance. (3. September 1861)

First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps. (19. August 1861)

American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army. (31. October 1861)

American Civil War: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by the U.S. Congress. (9. December 1861)

The United States Army abolishes flogging. (5. August 1861)

The University of Washington opens in Seattle, Washington as the Territorial University. (4. November 1861)

American Civil War: The Confederate States of America accept a rival state government's pronouncement that declares Kentucky to be the 13th state of the Confederacy. (10. December 1861)

American Civil War: Battle of Wilson's Creek – the war enters Missouri when a band of raw Confederate troops defeat Union forces in the southwestern part of the state. (10. August 1861)

American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff – Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed in the fighting. (21. October 1861)

American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island – Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens. (9. October 1861)

The Toronto Stock Exchange is created. (25. October 1861)

The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express. (24. October 1861)