forces of the state of Virginia. April 24 (N.S.) – Bezdna, Russia is the scene of a peasant uprising; the military open fire and about 90 are killed. April 25 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington, D.C. April 26 – Giovanni Schiaparelli discovers the asteroid 69 Hesperia. April 27 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States. May 6 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union. May 7 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union. May 8 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America. May 13 North Star Affair: The British merchant ship North Star leaves Hong Kong for Nagasaki, Japan. Chinese pirates board the vessel, kill an officer, and escape with a large quantity of gold. American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality", which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights. Comet C/1861 J1 (the "Great Comet of 1861") is discovered in Australia. May 14 – The Canellas meteorite, an 859 gram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth near Barcelona, Spain. May 20 – American Civil War: Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which lasts until September 3, when Confederate forces enter the state. North Carolina secedes from the Union. May 21 – Russian sailors clash with a group of Japanese samurai and farmers, at Tsushima island. May 23 – American Civil War: The state of Virginia's ordinance of secession from the United States is ratified in a referendum held on May 23, 1861. May 29 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is established. June 9 – The Règlement Organique: With the approval of European powers, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate is established as a semi-autonomous sub-division separate from the Sidon Eyalet. An Ottoman Armenian, Davud Pasha, is appointed Mutasarrıf by the Ottoman Sultan. June 15 – Benito Juárez is formally elected President of Mexico; he temporarily stops the payments of foreign debt. June 22 – Tooley Street fire starts and takes the life of James Braidwood first director of the London Fire Brigade. June 25 – Abdülmecid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1839–1861) dies and is succeeded by Abdülaziz (1861–1876). July–September July 1 The first issue of the Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano is published. Taiping Rebellion – Battle of Shanghai: French and Imperial Chinese troops