On This Day

US Union warship USS Kearsarge appears off Cherbourg

Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche.

Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 February 2000, which was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on 1 January 2016.

Cherbourg is protected by Cherbourg Harbour, between La Hague and Val de Saire, and the city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French. Cited as one of the "keys to the kingdom" by Vauban, it became, by colossal maritime development work, a first-rate military port under the leadership of Napoleon I, and holds an arsenal of the French Navy.

Historical Significance

Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche.

Events Before

  1. 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.

  2. P. T. Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb & Mercy Lavinia Warren, both midgets, in NYC

    P. T. Barnum stages wedding of Tom Thumb & Mercy Lavinia Warren, both midgets, in NYC

  3. Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (21) weds Princess Alexandra of Denmark (18) at Windsor Castle in St. George's chapel

    King Christian IX of Denmark (8 April 1818 – 29 January 1906), known as the "father-in-law of Europe", ruled Denmark from 1863 to 1906.

  4. Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions and medicines valued at ove

    Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions and medicines valued at over $1,000,000. The wreck is discovered exactly 102 years later by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence.

  5. Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, enters the garden of Ridván near Baghdad. He makes his declaration as a Messen

    Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, enters the garden of Ridván near Baghdad. He makes his declaration as a Messenger of God during the 12 days he spends there.

Events After

  1. New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad Street, near Wall Street, in New York City

    The New York Stock Exchange Building (also NYSE Building) is the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City.

  2. Confederate Brigadier-General John Pegram marries Hetty Cary (US Civil War)

    Confederate Brigadier-General John Pegram marries Hetty Cary (US Civil War)

  3. Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States

    Congress passes, by a vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States except as punishment for a crime [1] [2]

  4. Robert E. Lee is named general-in-chief of Confederate forces

    Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general whose early actions in the American Civil War led to his appointment as the overall commander of the Confederate…

  5. General Robert E. Lee is appointed General-in-Chief of the Confederate Armies during the US Civil War

    Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general whose early actions in the American Civil War led to his appointment as the overall commander of the Confederate…

More from the 1860s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 14, 1864?
Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 February 2000, which was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on 1 January 2016. Cherbourg is protected by Cherbourg Harbour, between La Hague and Val de Saire, and the city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French.
Why is US Union warship USS Kearsarge appears off Cherbourg significant?
Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche.

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