American Civil War
Timeline 1862


Western Theater - click to enlarge Map


Eastern Theater - click to enlarge Map


  1862
The Homestead Act is passed, entitling any citizen or person who intends to acquire citizenship, who is twenty-one years or older and the head of a household, to acquire 160 acres of land in the public domain by settling on them for five years and paying a small fee. The law takes effect January 1, 1863. General Lee's invasion of the North is halted by General McClellan at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. In the bloodiest single day of the Civil War, Union casualties are 2,108 killed and 9,549 wounded; Confederate casualties are 2,700 killed and 9,029 wounded.
 

January 1862 The Cause and Object of the War - Original Work

January 1862 -- Abraham Lincoln Takes Action. On January 27, President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. General McClellan ignored the order.

January 3, 1862 Cockpit Point / Freestone Point
January 5-6, 1862 Hancock / Romney Campaign
January 8, 1862 Roan's Tan Yard / Silver Creek
January 10, 1862 Middle Creek
January 19, 1862 Mill Springs / Logan's Cross-Roads / Fishing Creek


February 1862 Grant Breaks the Kentucky Line - Original Work

February 6, 1862 Fort Henry
February 7-8, 1862 Roanoke Island / Fort Huger
February 11-16, 1862 Fort Donelson
February 20-21, 1862 Valverde
Ref:  Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland
Ref:  Duel on the Roanoke - The True Story of the CSS Albemarle
Ref:  Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth
Ref:  The Civil War in the Western Territories: Arizona, New Mexico

February 25: Nashville is first Confederate state capital to fall to Union forces Ref  Nashville: The Western Confederacy's Final Gamble

February 28-April 8, 1862 New Madrid


Spring 1862 Union Offensive

Joe Ryan's Civil War Battle Walks: The Union Invasion of Virginia 1862  (1 of 3)

Union invasion of Virginia Part 2
Union invasion of Virginia Part 3



March 1862 Congress Plans Freedom for the Slaves - Original Work

March 1862 -- General McClellan Loses Command.
On March 8, President Lincoln -- impatient with General McClellan's inactivity -- issued an order reorganizing the Army of Virginia and relieving McClellan of supreme command. McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac, and ordered to attack Richmond. This marked the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign.

Peninsula Campaign Details and Seven Days Battle Map

The Civil War Papers Of George B. Mcclellan: Selected Correspondence, 1860-1865
General-in-chief of the entire Union army at one point, he led the Army of the Potomac through the disaster at Antietam Creek, was subsequently dismissed by Lincoln, and then ran against him in the 1864 presidential campaign.

George B. McClellan In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman
The complex general who, though gifted with administrative and organizational skills, was unable and unwilling to fight with the splendid army he had created.

March 6-8-- CSA Major General Earl Van Dorn set out to outflank the Union position near Pea Ridge, Arkansas on the night of March 6, dividing his army into two columns. Learning of Van Dorn's approach, the Federals marched north to meet his advance on March 7. This movement�compounded by the killing of two generals, Brig. General Ben McCulloch and Brig. General James McQueen McIntosh, and the capture of their ranking colonel�halted the Rebel attack. Van Dorn led a second column to meet the Federals in the Elkhorn Tavern and Tanyard area. By nightfall, the Confederates controlled Elkhorn Tavern and Telegraph Road. The next day, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, having regrouped and consolidated his army, counterattacked near the tavern and, by successfully employing his artillery, slowly forced the Rebels back. Running short of ammunition, Van Dorn abandoned the battlefield. The Union controlled Missouri for the next two years.

Van Dorn
Van Dorn: The Life and Times of a Confederate General
Biography of the flamboyant Earl Van Dorn, one of the most promising yet disappointing officers in the Confederate Army
March 6-8, 1862 Pea Ridge / Elkhorn Tavern
March 8 CSS Virginia vs USS Cumberland Congress
March 9 CSS Virginia vs USS Monitor
March 8-9, 1862 Hampton Roads / Battle of the Ironclads
Ref:  Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West
Ref:  Confederate Ironclad vs Union Ironclad: Hampton Roads 1862





Hampton Roads - The War in the East  
Original Work by Joe Ryan


March 9 1862 -- The "Monitor" and the "Merrimac"
In an attempt to reduce the North's great naval advantage, Confederate engineers converted a scuttled Union frigate, the U.S.S. Merrimac, into an iron-sided vessel rechristened the C.S.S. Virginia. On March 9, in the first naval engagement between ironclad ships, the Monitor fought the Virginia to a draw, but not before the Virginia had sunk two wooden Union warships off Norfolk, Virginia.
Monitor
Monitor 21" Civil War Ship
Wood Model Fully Assembled
  • Dimensions 21" Long x 5" Wide x 3" High
  • Meticulously painted to the actual Monitor
  • Museum quality model. Fully assembled and ready to display.
  • Built with rare, high quality rosewood.
Kindle Available
Ironclad vs Monitor

Confederate Ironclad vs Union Ironclad: Hampton Roads 1862
The Ironclad was a revolutionary weapon of war. Although iron was used for protection in the Far East during the 16th century, it was the 19th century and the American Civil War that heralded the first modern armored self-propelled warships.

March 14, 1862 New Berne
March 23, 1862 Kernstown
March 23-April 26, 1862 Fort Macon
March 26-28, 1862 Glorieta Pass



April 1862 War in the West April 1862 "The Origin And Object Of The War" Original Work by Joe Ryan

April 5-May 4, 1862 Yorktown
April 6-7, 1862 Shiloh / Pittsburg Landing
April 10-11, 1862 Fort Pulaski
April 16-28, 1862 Fort Jackson / Fort St. Philip
April 19, 1862 South Mills / Camden
April 25�May 1, 1862 New Orleans
April 29-June 10, 1862 Corinth

Ref  Shiloh: The Battle That Changed The Civil War
Ref  Sumter Is Avenged!: The Siege and Reduction of Fort Pulaski
Ref  American Civil War Fortifications The Mississippi and River Forts

Ref  The Capture of New Orleans, 1862
Ref  Campaign for Corinth: Blood in Mississippi

April 16: Confederates enact conscription.

April 1862 -- The Battle of Shiloh.
On April 6, Confederate forces attacked Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee. By the end of the day, the federal troops were almost defeated. Yet, during the night, reinforcements arrived, and by the next morning the Union commanded the field. When Confederate forces retreated, the exhausted federal forces did not follow. Casualties were heavy -- 13,000 out of 63,000 Union soldiers died, and 11,000 of 40,000 Confederate troops were killed.
Kindle Available
Shiloh Western Campaign

Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862
The Battle of Shiloh was one of the most critical battles in American History. Some of the biggest figures of the Civil War - Grant, Sherman, Johnston, Bragg, Beauregard, Buell - they all fought there. As Grant would write in his memoirs, before Shiloh, Americans on both sides of the Mason Dixon line believed that the war could still be a short limited affair.

April 1862 Fort Pulaski, Georgia --
General Quincy A. Gillmore battered Fort Pulaski, the imposing masonry structure near the mouth of the Savannah River, into submission in less than two days, (April 10-11, 1862).

April 1862 -- New Orleans.
Flag Officer David Farragut led an assault up the Mississippi River. By April 25, he was in command of New Orleans.

April 1862 -- The Peninsula Campaign.
In April, General McClellan's troops left northern Virginia to begin the Peninsula Campaign. By May 4, they occupied Yorktown, Virginia. At Williamsburg, Confederate forces prevented McClellan from meeting the main part of the Confederate army, and McClellan halted his troops, awaiting reinforcements.


May 1862 What Happened in May 1862 - Charles Sumner wins the argument -
Original Work

May 1862 -- General Stonewall Jackson Defeats Union Forces.
Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, commanding forces in the Shenandoah Valley, attacked Union forces in late March, forcing them to retreat across the Potomac. As a result, Union troops were rushed to protect Washington, D.C.
Kindle Available
Class of 1846

The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox: Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan, and Their Brothers
No single group of men at West Point has been so indelibly written into history as the class of 1846. The names are legendary: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, Ambrose Powell Hill, Darius Nash Couch, George Edward Pickett, Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, and George Stoneman

May 5, 1862 Williamsburg / Fort Magruder
May 7, 1862 Eltham's Landing Barhamsville / West Point
May 8, 1862 McDowell / Sitlington's Hill
May 10,1862 Naval Engagement Fort Pillow Tennessee
May 15, 1862 Drewry's Bluff / Fort Darling / Fort Drewry
May 15-17, 1862 Princeton Courthouse / Actions at Wolf Creek
May 23, 1862 Front Royal / Guard Hill / Cedarville
May 25, 1862 Winchester / Bowers Hill
May 27, 1862 Hanover Court House / Slash Church
May 31-June 1, 1862 Seven Pines / Fair Oaks Station

Seven Pines - War in the East May 1862 Original Work

May 31 -- The Battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks).
The Confederate army attacked federal forces at Seven Pines, almost defeating them; last-minute reinforcements saved the Union from a serious defeat. Confederate commander Joseph E. Johnston was severely wounded, and command of the Army of Northern Virginia fell to Robert E. Lee.

June 5, 1862 Tranter's Creek
June 6, 1862 Memphis
June 7-8, 1862 Chattanooga
June 8, 1862 Cross Keys
June 9, 1862 Port Republic

June 16 -- Secessionville South Carolina
On June 16, contrary to Hunter's orders, Benham launched an unsuccessful frontal assault against Fort Lamar at Secessionville. Because Benham was said to have disobeyed orders, Hunter relieved him of command. Early June 1862, Maj. Gen. David Hunter had transported Horatio Wright's and Isaac Stevens's Union divisions under immediate direction of Brig. Gen. Henry Benham to James Island where they entrenched at Grimball's Landing near the southern flank of the Confederate defenses.

June 16, 1862 Secessionville / Ft. Lamar / James Island
June 17, 1862 Saint Charles
June 21, 1862 Simmon's Bluff

June 21 -- Simmon's Bluff South Carolina
On June 21, troops of the 55th Pennsylvania landed from the gunboat Crusader and transport Planter near Simmon's Bluff on Wadmelaw Sound, surprising and burning an encampment of the 16th South Carolina Infantry. The Confederates scattered, and the Federals returned to their ships. Despite this minor victory, the Federals abandoned their raid on the railroad.

June 25, 1862 Oak Grove French's Field / King's School House
June 26, 1862 Beaver Dam Creek / Mechanicsville / Ellerson's Mill
June 27, 1862 Gaines' Mill / First Cold Harbor
June 27-28, 1862 Garnett's Farm / Golding's Farm
June 29, 1862 Savage's Station
June 30, 1862 White Oak Swamp
June 30, 1862 Glendale / Frayser's Farm / Riddell's Shop
June 30-July 1, 1862 Tampa

June 30 City of Tampa.
A Union gunboat came into Tampa Bay, turned her broadside on the town, and opened her ports. The gunboat then dispatched a launch carrying 20 men and a lieutenant under a flag of truce demanding the surrender of Tampa. The Confederates refused, and the gunboat opened fire. The officer then informed the Confederates that shelling would commence at 6:00 pm after allowing time to evacuate non-combatants from the city. Firing continued sporadically into the afternoon of July 1, when the Federal gunboat withdrew.


Joe Ryan's Civil War Battle Walks: The Union Invasion of Virginia June 1862
(part Three of Three)
Part One
Part Two
July The Seven Days' Battles.
Between June 26 and July 2, Union and Confederate forces fought a series of battles: Mechanicsville (June 26-27), Gaines's Mill (June 27), Savage's Station (June 29), Frayser's Farm (June 30), and Malvern Hill (July 1). On July 2, the Confederates withdrew to Richmond, ending the Peninsular Campaign

The Seven Days
- Original Work by Joe Ryan

Extraordinary Circumstances
The Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days were fought in the area southeast of the Confederate capitol of Richmond from June 25 to July 1, 1862

July 1862 -- A New Commander of the Union Army.

On July 11, Major-General Henry Halleck was named general-in-chief of the Union army.

July 1, 1862 Malvern Hill / Poindexter's Farm
July 7, 1862 Hill's Plantation / Cache River / Cotton Plant
July 13, 1862 Murfreesboro

August 5, 1862 Baton Rouge / Magnolia Cemetery
August 6-9, 1862 Kirksville
August 9, 1862 Cedar Mountain / Slaughter's Mountain / Cedar Run
August 11, 1862 Independence
August 15-16, 1862 Lone Jack
August 20-22, 1862 Fort Ridgely
August 22-25, 1862 Rappahannock Station / Waterloo Bridge
August 25-27,1862 Manassas Station Operations
August 28, 1862 Thoroughfare Gap / Chapman's Mill
August 28-30, 1862 Manassas Second / Second Bull Run

August 1862 -- Pope's Campaign.
Union General John Pope suffered defeated at the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29- 30. General Fitz-John Porter was held responsible for the defeat because he had failed to commit his troops to battle quickly enough; he was forced out of the army by 1863.

August 29-30, 1862 Richmond

September 4: Army of northern Virginia crosses Potomac river to invade Maryland

  In early September Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis that the Army of Northern Virginia was not properly equipped for such a campaign, especially since thousands of its men were barefoot. Nevertheless, Lee thought that his army was strong enough to keep the enemy occupied north of the Potomac until the approach of winter.  

Lee's Maryland Campaign        Special Order 191
  Book Title
The Gleam Of Bayonets: The Battle Of Antietam And Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, September, 1862

September 1862 -- Harper's Ferry.
Union General McClellan defeated Confederate General Lee at South Mountain and Crampton's Gap in September, but did not move quickly enough to save Harper's Ferry, which fell to Confederate General Jackson on September 15, along with a great number of men and a large body of supplies.

September 1, 1862 Chantilly / Ox Hill
September 14-17, 1862 Munfordville / Green River Bridge

September 14 Crampton's Gap
September 12-15, 1862 Harpers Ferry

Sept 14, 1862 South Mountain / Crampton Gap / Turner Gap / Fox Gap
September 16-18, 1862 Antietam / Sharpsburg
September 19, 1862 Iuka
September 19-20, 1862 Shepherdstown / Boteler's Ford

September 1862 -- Antietam.
On September 17, Confederate forces under General Lee were caught by General McClellan near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle proved to be the bloodiest day of the war; 2,108 Union soldiers were killed and 9,549 wounded -- 2,700 Confederates were killed and 9,029 wounded. The battle had no clear winner, but because General Lee withdrew to Virginia, McClellan was considered the victor. The battle convinced the British and French -- who were contemplating official recognition of the Confederacy -- to reserve action, and gave Lincoln the opportunity to announce his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (September 22), which would free all slaves in areas rebelling against the United States, effective January 1, 1863.       Article on Lee's strategy and Special Order 191

Antietam The Soldiers Battle
American Civil War's bloodiest day, a compilation of eyewitness Chronologically arranged accounts. The book includes 72 sketch maps.

September 23, 1862 Wood Lake

September 23 -- Sabine Pass.
On September 23, 1862, the Union Steamer Kensington, Schooner Rachel Seaman, and Mortar Schooner Henry James appeared off the bar at Sabine Pass. The next morning, the two schooners crossed the bar, took position, and began firing on the Confederate shore battery. The shots from both land and shore fell far short of the targets. The ships then moved nearer until their projectiles began to fall amongst the Confederate guns. The Confederate cannons, however, still could not hit the ships. After dark, the Confederates evacuated, taking as much property as possible with them and spiking the four guns left behind. On the morning of the 25th, the schooners moved up to the battery and destroyed it while Acting Master Frederick Crocker, commander of the expedition, received the surrender of the town. Union control of Sabine Pass made later incursions into the interior possible.

Sabine Pass: The Confederacy's Thermopylae
Confederate president Jefferson Davis made the claim: "That battle at Sabine Pass was more remarkable than the battle at Thermopylae." Sabine Pass was the site of one of the most decisive Civil War battles

September 24-25, 1862 Sabine Pass
September 30, 1862 Newtonia
October 1-3, 1862 St. John's Bluff

October 1-3 --St. John's Bluff
Brig. General John Finegan established a battery on St. John' s Bluff near Jacksonville to stop the movement of Federal ships up the St. Johns River. Brig. Gen. John M. Brannan embarked with about 1,500 infantry aboard the transports Boston, Ben DeFord, Cosmopolitan, and Neptune at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on September 30. The flotilla arrived at the mouth of the St. John's River on October 1, where Cdr. Charles Steedman' s gunboats�Paul Jones, Cimarron, Uncas, Patroon, Hale, and Water Witch�joined them. By midday, the gunboats approached the bluff, while Brannan began landing troops at Mayport Mills. Another infantry force landed at Mount Pleasant Creek, about five miles in the rear of the Confederate battery, and began marching overland on the 2nd. Outmaneuvered, Lt. Col. Charles F. Hopkins abandoned the position after dark. When the gunboats approached the bluff the next day, its guns were silent.

October 3-4, 1862 Corinth

October 4 -- Galveston Texas.
At 6:00 am on October 4, 1862, Cdr. W.B. Renshaw, commanding the blockading ships in the Galveston Bay area, sent Harriet Lane into the harbor.

October 4, 1862 Galveston
October 5, 1862 Hatchie's Bridge / Davis Bridge / Matamora
October 8, 1862 Perryville
October 22, 1862 Old Fort Wayne / Beaty's Prairie
October 27, 1862 Georgia Landing / Labadieville / Texana

November 7, 1862 Clark's Mill / Vera Cruz
November 28, 1862 Cane Hill / Boston Mountains

December 7, 1862 Hartsville
December 14, 1862 Kinston
December 16, 1862 White Hall / Whitehall / White Hall Ferry
December 17, 1862 Goldsborough Bridge
December 19, 1862 Jackson
December 26-29, 1862 Chickasaw Bayou / Walnut Hills
December 31, 1862 Parker's Cross Roads
Dec 31, 1862-Jan 2, 1863 Stones River / Murfreesboro

December 29 -- Murfreesboro Stones River Campaign

December 1862 -- The Battle of Fredericksburg.
General McClellan's slow movements, combined with General Lee's escape, and continued raiding by Confederate cavalry, dismayed many in the North. On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside's forces were defeated in a series of attacks against entrenched Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Burnside was replaced with General Joseph Hooker.

Burnside
Ambrose Burnside led a Corps or Army during most of this time and played important roles in various theaters of the war.
December 7, 1862 Prairie Grove / Fayetteville
December 11-15, 1862 Fredericksburg I / Marye's Heights
Cavalry Sabre
Cavalry Saber
This fine replica is 39 inches overall and features a highly polished 33 inch carbon steel blade. Its leather wrapped handle fits the hand perfectly and sports decorative brass accents and a shiny brass pommel.
1863 Timeline
Civil War Timeline
American Civil War Exhibits
Women in the War
Civil War Summary
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Civil War Period Maps
Civil War Submarines
Civil War Revolver Pistol
Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol
Engraved Silver Tone / Gold Tone Finish and Wooden Grips - Replica of Revolver Used by Both USA / Union and CSA / Confederate Forces

American Civil War CSA Generals Book Titles

Nathan Bedford Forrest
In Search of the Enigma

The lost story of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a pivotal character in the war, yet so much of his story has been swept aside in light of General Lee and other figures who were more recognized or perhaps more publicized. This is a must read

Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography
A biography of the public and private life of General Joseph E. Johnston, one of the most important Southern field commanders during the American Civil War

Mosby's Rangers
From 1863 to the end, Mosby's raiders were a constant headache for the North. More than 1,000 men served under Mosby, they usually acted in small detachments of several dozen, sacking supply depots, attacking railroads, and harassing federal troops. They seemed to move behind enemy lines almost at will.
Kindle Available
JEB Stuart

Cavalryman of the Lost Cause
A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart

James Ewell Brown Stuart was the premier cavalry commander of the Confederacy. He gained a reputation for daring early in the war when he rode around the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign, providing valuable intelligence to General Robert E. Lee at the expense of Union commander George B. McClellan
Kindle Available
General James Longstreet

From Manassas to Appomattox: General James Longstreet
According to some, he was partially to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg; according to others, if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, they would have won that battle. He has been called stubborn and vain; and he has been lauded as one of the greatest tacticians of the Civil War
Kindle Available
lee maxims

The Maxims Of Robert E. Lee For Young Gentlemen: Advice, Admonitions, and Anecdotes on Christian Duty and Wisdom from the Life of General Lee
All his life, Robert E. Lee relied upon his faith for strength and guidance not only in troubled times, but also as the foundation upon which he based all of his dealings with others.
Kindle Available
John Bell Hood

Advance And Retreat: Personal Experiences In The United States And Confederate States Armies
John Bell Hood entered the Confederate Army at 29, loyal to Confederate Independence. He led his men into the battles of Second Manassas, Gaines's Mill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga
Kindle Available
Wade Hampton

Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer
General Wade Hampton was for a time the commander of all Lee's cavalry and at the end of the war was the highest-ranking Confederate cavalry officer

American Civil War DVD Titles

Lincoln and Lee at Antietam
The Cost of Freedom

Lincoln and Lee at Antietam covers the entire struggle of the Antietam Campaign. The political concept about why Lincoln needed a Union victory and Lee's need to take the war north were covered as well as the battle.

Gettysburg and Stories of Valor
Civil War Minutes III DVD Box Set

This 3-hour documentary captures the scenic beauty of the Gettysburg battlefield, examines rare Civil War artifacts and tells the personal stories of the men who fought in the war.
Brother Against Brother American Civil War
Brother Against Brother
The American Civil War

It was the most tragic episode in American history. During four years of bitter and bloody fighting between the states, more than 600,000 troops from the Union and Confederate sides lost their lives. The bloody events at places such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Cold Harbor, Vicksburg and Fredericksburg are still burned deep into the American psyche, never to be forgotten

Civil War: A Concise History
The best collection of Civil War visuals ever assembled in one 75-minute program. A breathtaking and first-hand account of the war. Great DVD Bonuses

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