On this date 150 years ago, President Lincoln observed Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe's demonstration of the use of a hot-air balloon. Some military advisors hoped to employ balloons for observation of enemy movements during the war.

In Missouri, Union troops established themselves in the state capital at Jefferson City. Eleswhere, pro-Confederate troops were defeated at Boonville, thus providing Federals with further control of the Missouri River.