What Happened in June?

The capture of Retired Mexican General Vallejo at his home in Sonoma by ragtag group of about 30 armed Americans, marks the start of the short lived, California Republic or Bear Flag Republic, an unrecognized breakaway from Mexico, that for 25 days militarily controlled an area in and around what is now Sonoma County in California, north of San Francisco. Three weeks later, on July 5, 1846, the Republic's military of 100 to 200 men was subsumed into the California Battalion commanded by Captain John C. Frémont, who had encouraged the revolt. The battalion officially became the U.S. Army’s California Battalion, and went on to fight — this time officially, in the battle for California. More

The Oregon Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by Representatives of Great Britain and the United States, establishing the U.S.-Canadian border at the 49th parallel and settling a long-standing dispute with Britain over who controlled the Oregon territory.  Expand +

Denmark transitions into a constitutional monarchy as King Frederik VII signs the first constitution which had been approved by the Constitutional Assembly on May 25. This event, known as Constitution Day (Grundlovsdag), marked the end of Denmark's absolute monarchy and the establishment of a parliament (Rigsdagen).

500 Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (LDS) depart from Iowa City, Iowa, traveling westward to Salt Lake City, Utah where in 1847, Brigham Young, the secular and religious leader of the group, had established the center of a new Utah sanctuary for the Mormon community.  Expand +

Abraham Lincoln delivers his "House Divided Speech" while accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for US Senate. In this speech, he paraphrase a passage from the New Testament: “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” to describe the United States' deep division over the issue of slavery. Lincoln believed that the nation could not long endure with the fundamental contradiction of being half slave and half free.  Expand +

West Virginia is admitted into the Union as the 35th State. It was created during the Civil War when western counties of Virginia, which opposed secession from the Union, formed their own State and it was formalized with West Virginia's admission to the Union in 1863. The statehood was a direct result of the political and social divisions within Virginia regarding secession.

The Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Siege of Petersburg, begins. It was a series of battles and trench warfare that took place during the American Civil War in and around Petersburg, Virginia, lasting 292 days from June 1864 to April 1865. It was a crucial campaign in the American Civil War, as Petersburg was a major supply hub for the Confederate capital of Richmond and the Confederate forces. The siege ultimately led to the fall of both cities as the Union forces broke through Confederate lines, leading to the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond on April 2, 1865 and effectively ending the war, as Lee surrendered a week later at Appomattox Court House. Both sides suffered significant losses during the Petersburg campaign with an estimated 70,000 casualties. More

Arlington officially becomes a national cemetery by order of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The original cemetery was 200 acres, and as of early 2020, has grown to 639 acres. Arlington became a segregated cemetery, just like all national cemeteries at the time, and remained segregated by race and rank until 1948, when President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military. Approximately 400,000 veterans and their eligible dependents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Service members from every one of America’s major wars, from the Revolutionary War to today's conflicts, are interred at ANC. More

The USS Kearsarge sinks the CSS Alabama during the American Civil War. The battle took place in international waters off the coast of France, although close enough to be visible from shore. The Alabama was commanded by Capt. Raphael Semmes (later Rear Adm.) and the USS Kearsarge by Cpt. John A. Winslow (later promoted to Commodore) Expand +

Colorado Territory Governor, John Evans issues a proclamation on June 27, 1864 commanding all “Friendly” Native Americans of the Cheyenne and Arapaho to go to Fort Lyon to receive supplies and to find safety. However, this was in direct conflict with the standing order at all Forts within the Territory of Colorado that all members of the Military should shoot and kill any Native American that approached a Fort.  Expand +

Union General Gordon Granger announces in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves in Texas are free; almost two and half years after the January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and two months after General Lee's surrender. The Texas announcement event is now celebrated as "Juneteenth".
On December 6, 1865 , the 13th Amendment ratification to the Constitution formally ended slavery throughout the entire nation. More

Chief Seattle (Si’ahl) passes away (1780-1866), thirteen years after the city was named for him. He was buried in the Suquamish Tribal Cemetery, not far from Seattle. The name “Seattle” is an Anglicization of Si'ahl. Chief Seattle's mother Sholeetsa, was Duwamish and his father Shweabe was chief of the the Suquamish Tribe. It is said that Si’ahl was born at his mother's Duwamish village of Stukw on the Black River, in what is now the city of Kent. More

The House passes the Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and submits it to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land. More

Maximilian was executed on a hill outside Querétaro, Mexico, on June 19, 1867, bringing an end to France's short lived Mexican empire. Maximilian I, was an Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire. His tenure as emperor was just three years from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Mexican Republic. More

The Shogunate in Japan is abolished, marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration.

Michael III ruling Prince of Serbia (Mihailo Obrenović) is assassinated, affecting the plans of the Balkan League for a coordinated rebellion against the Ottomans and destroying the league.

American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, along with Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule, were granted the patent number 79,265 for their "Improvement in Type-Writing Machines". The Type-Writer also introduced the QWERTY layout, which is still used on almost all US keyboards today. The Sholes Glidden Type-Writer was manufactured by E. Remington and Sons starting in 1873. Its adoption by large corporations kickstarted the typewriter industry and contributed to the speedup of American work life. More

Pioneering feminist, Susan B. Anthony, was fined for voting in a presidential election at Rochester, New York. More

In an effort to gain public attention about train travel, a train named the Transcontinental Express traveling via the first transcontinental railroad arrives in San Francisco 83 hours and 39 minutes after it left New York City showcasing the speed and efficiency of the first transcontinental railroad. Only ten years before, the same journey would have taken months over land or weeks on ship. The feat was reported widely in U.S. newspapers. More

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, takes place in southern Montana. The battle was fought along the ridges and steep bluffs of the Little Bighorn River, in south-central Montana, between warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, led by Sitting Bull, battling the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry, led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer along with their Crow, and Arikara scouts. More