Browse all Events in the Civil War 1862 Time Period.
Battle of Cross Keys
June 8, 1862 Fought on June 8, 1862, the Battle of Cross Keys was the fifth engagement and fourth Confederate victory of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. In the spring of 1862, Major General George McClellan was preparing to launch his much-anticipated Peninsula Campaign against the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. In addition to…
Battle of Drewry’s Bluff
May 15, 1862 Fought on May 15, 1862, the Confederate victory at Battle of Drewry's Bluff spared Richmond from the threat of being reduced by U.S. Naval artillery. On the night of May 3-4, 1862, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston (commanding, the Army of Northern Virginia) ordered the evacuation of the Warwick Line across the…
Battle of Fort Donelson
February 12–16, 1862 The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought in northern Tennessee, near the Kentucky border, from February 12 through 16, 1862. Union forces of about 25,000 men under the command of Ulysses S. Grant forced the surrender of Fort Donelson and about 13,000 Confederate troops. The victory opened the Cumberland River as a…
Battle of Fort Henry
February 6, 1862 The Battle of Fort Henry was fought in northern Tennessee, near the Kentucky border, on February 6, 1862. Primarily a naval engagement, the battle resulted in few casualties but did open the Tennessee River as a pathway for Federal invasion of the South in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.…
Battle of Fredericksburg
December 11–15, 1862 The most one-sided Confederate victory in the American Civil War, the Battle of Fredericksburg, was fought in and around the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862. Prelude After the bloody Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862) Confederate General Robert E. Lee was forced to retreat back into…
Battle of Front Royal
May 23, 1862 Fought on May 23, 1862, the Battle of Front Royal was the third engagement and second Confederate victory of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. In the spring of 1862, Major General George B. McClellan was preparing to launch his much-anticipated Peninsula Campaign against the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. In addition…
Battle of Gaines’ Mill
June 27, 1862 The Confederate victory at the Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862, featured the largest single assault of the American Civil War and prompted Major General George B. McClellan to suspend his plans to invest Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign. On March 17, 1862, Union General George B. McClellan launched his…
Battle of Glendale
June 30, 1862 The Battle of Glendale, also known as the battles of Frayser’s Farm, Frazier's Farm, Charles City Crossroads, New Market Road, and Riddell's Shop, was fought on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia. It was the fifth of the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign. On March 17, 1862, Union General…
Battle of Glorieta Pass
March 26–28, 1862 Often referred to as the Gettysburg of the West, the Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought on March 26-28, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the decisive turning-point of the American Civil War in the Far Western Theater. Soon after the American Civil War erupted, Confederate officials began making plans to annex the…
Battle of Hampton Roads
March 8 – 9, 1862 Also known as the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack and the Battle of the Ironclads, the Battle of Hampton Roads was the most notable naval battle of the American Civil War. When the American Civil War erupted in April 1861, Southern sympathizers seized control of the Gosport Shipyard…