On This Day
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Johnston evacuates Harpers Ferry

Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer and politician who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and in the Seminole...

Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer and politician who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and in the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from the United States in 1861, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers during the American Civil War.

Johnston was trained as a civil engineer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in the same class as Robert E. Lee. He later saw frontier service in Florida, Texas, and Kansas and by 1860 he achieved the rank of brigadier general as Quartermaster General of the U.S.

Historical Significance

Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer and politician who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and in the Seminole Wars.

Events Before

  1. Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule

    The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.

  2. Willie Park Sr. marries Susanna Law in Inveresk, Scotland

    Willie Park Sr. marries Susanna Law in Inveresk, Scotland

  3. Start of the Pony Express, mail is delivered by horse and rider relay teams between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento,

    Start of the Pony Express, mail is delivered by horse and rider relay teams between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California

  4. First Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California

    The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California.

  5. Champion of England Tom Sayers and American John Heenan fight a brutal 2-hour, 27-minute draw that ends only after polic

    Champion of England Tom Sayers and American John Heenan fight a brutal 2-hour, 27-minute draw that ends only after police stop the fight near Farnborough in England, acknowledged as the first world title bout

Events After

  1. First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation

    First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that is legal tender in America

  2. First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard

    First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard

  3. Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Peter

    Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Petersburg, Russia

  4. First baseball enclosure opens at Union Grounds in Brooklyn

    Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15.

  5. Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine

    Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine

More from the 1860s

Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people in Confederate states

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule

The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.

birth

Alfred Stieglitz is born

Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.

birth

Qi Baishi is born

Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 15, 1861?
Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer and politician who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and in the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from the United States in 1861, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers during the American Civil War. Johnston was trained as a civil engineer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in the same class as Robert E.
Why is Johnston evacuates Harpers Ferry significant?
Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer and politician who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and in the Seminole Wars.

Explore More

June 15 in HistoryYear 1861