Thatcher’s Comet, the “Great Comet of 1861” A minor skirmish takes place today. In the Battle of Hoke’s Run, Union forces cross the Potomac River near Williamsport, Maryland and march toward nearby Confederate forces. The two sides encounter one another in Berkeley County, Virginia. Pushing the Confederates out of the area, Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson’s…
Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt Lowe (August 20, 1832 – January 16, 1913) – otherwise known as Professor Lowe – uses his flying balloon to spy on Confederate camps near Fairfax, Virginia. Union calvarymen are dispatched to locate the Confederates, but come up empty-handed. Lowe is a pioneering aeronaut, scientist and inventor. In July U.S. President Abraham…
The Richmond Howitzers 3rd Company forms at the Baptist Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Soon attached to the 1st Regiment Virginia Artillery, it later becomes an independent company assigned to J.T. Brown’s and R.A. Hardaway’s Battalion of Artillery, Army of Northern Virginia. “They served in the Richmond area and were actively engaged from the Maryland Campaign…