August 1864

Monday 01:

The Elgin Watch Company is founded in Elgin, Illinois

Friday 05:

At Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.

Wednesday 17:

American Civil War: Confederate forces defeated Union troops at the Battle of Gainesville.

Thursday 18:

Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Weldon Railroad.

Monday 22:

Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention. The Red Cross is formed.

Tuesday 23:

The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico

Wednesday 31:

American Civil War: Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.