Year by year · 19th century

1864

1864 in world history: 32 events, 20 births, 19 deaths, 1 state founded and 4 that came to an end. 1,039 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 17 February

    H. L. Hunley sinks USS Housatonic

    The Confederate submarine rammed a torpedo into the Union warship off Charleston, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a submarine. The Hunley was lost with all eight crew that night.

  2. 22 April

    Coinage Act puts 'In God We Trust' on US coins

    Congress authorised a new two-cent coin, the first to bear the motto 'In God We Trust'. It spread to other coins and became the official US national motto in 1956.

  3. 9 May

    Sniper kills Union general John Sedgwick at Spotsylvania

    Moments after telling his men that Confederate sharpshooters 'couldn't hit an elephant at this distance', General Sedgwick was shot dead. He was the highest-ranking Union officer killed in the war.

  4. 22 July

    Hood attacks Sherman in the Battle of Atlanta

    Confederate General John Bell Hood struck Sherman's armies east of Atlanta, killing Union General James McPherson. The attack failed, and Atlanta's fall in September boosted Lincoln's re-election.

  5. 22 August

    The first Geneva Convention is signed

    Twelve states signed the Geneva Convention protecting wounded soldiers and the medical staff caring for them. It grew out of Henry Dunant's campaign and founded modern humanitarian law.

  6. 1 September

    Confederates evacuate Atlanta

    General John Bell Hood abandoned Atlanta, blowing up ammunition trains as he left, and Sherman's troops entered the next day. The capture of the rail hub revived Lincoln's re-election hopes.

  7. 31 October

    Nevada becomes the 36th US state

    Nevada was admitted to the Union during the Civil War, with Republicans keen on its votes for Lincoln's re-election and support for the 13th Amendment. It is still called the 'Battle Born State'.

  8. 15 November

    Sherman leaves Atlanta on his March to the Sea

    After burning much of Atlanta, William T. Sherman's army set off for Savannah. Its destruction of railways, crops and property across Georgia aimed to break the Confederacy's capacity and will to fight.

    SavannahGeorgia

  9. 29 November

    Colorado troops massacre Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek

    Colonel John Chivington's volunteer cavalry attacked a peaceful camp at Sand Creek, Colorado, killing about 150 to 200 people, mostly women, children and the elderly. Congressional inquiries condemned the attack.

  10. War

    Second Schleswig War

    The Second Schleswig War was fought in 1864 between Denmark and the allied German powers Prussia and Austria.

  11. Event

    Charlottetown Conference

    The Charlottetown Conference was a meeting of delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, held at Charlottetown in September 1864.

  12. Battle

    Battle of Ōrākau

    The Battle of Ōrākau was fought from 31 March to 2 April 1864 in the Waikato, New Zealand, the last major battle of the British invasion of the Waikato.

  13. Event

    Long Walk of the Navajo

    The Long Walk of the Navajo was the forced removal of the Navajo people by the US Army in 1864 from their homeland in present-day Arizona and New Mexico to the Bosque Redondo reservation.

  14. Revolt

    Tengu Party Rebellion

    The Tengu Party Rebellion was a rising of radical loyalist samurai of the Mito domain in 1864, during the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate.

  15. Battle

    Battle of Dybbøl

    The Battle of Dybbøl was the decisive engagement of the Second Schleswig War.

  16. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Vienna (1864)

    The Treaty of Vienna was signed on 30 October 1864 between Denmark and the victors of the Second Schleswig War, Prussia and Austria.

  17. Event

    Russian judicial reform of 1864

    The Russian judicial reform of 1864 was one of the Great Reforms of Tsar Alexander II, which reorganised the courts of the Russian Empire.

  18. War

    Tsilhqot'in War

    The Tsilhqot'in War was a conflict in 1864 between the Tsilhqot'in people of the Chilcotin plateau and the colony of British Columbia.

ProfileState886 states with a known seat in 1864Open the atlas at 1864 →

In the profiles

  • Brazilian EmpireParaguayan War begins; Brazil will bear most of six years of fighting
  • CanadaThe Charlottetown and Quebec conferences agree the terms of Confederation
  • Kingdom of DenmarkDefeat in the Second Schleswig War costs Schleswig and Holstein
  • German ConfederationAustria and Prussia defeat Denmark in the Second Schleswig War
  • Kingdom of GreeceBritain cedes the Ionian Islands as George I begins his reign
  • CircassiaRussia ends Circassian resistance; mass deportation to the Ottoman Empire
  • BarotselandSipopa leads a Lozi rising that ends Kololo rule

Wars and longer events

Born in 1864 20

Died in 1864 19

States founded 1

States that came to an end 4

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1864. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1864
MLA
“1864.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1864. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1864.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1864.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1864’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1864 (Accessed: ).