Historical Events in 1862

Events 1 - 200 of 280

Jan 1 1st US income tax (3% of incomes > $600, 5% of incomes > $10,000)

Jackson Moves North

Jan 3 Romney Campaign: Stonewall Jackson moves north from Winchester, Virginia

Jan 4 Romney Campaign: Stonewall Jackson occupies Bath, West Virginia
Jan 7 Romney Campaign: Stonewall Jackson march towards Romney, West Virginia
Jan 9 The first petroleum shipment (1,329 barrels) from the U.S. to Europe arrives at Victoria Docks, London, England aboard the Elizabeth Watts
Jan 10 Battle of Big Sandy River, KY (Middle Creek)
Jan 10 Romney expedition, Confederate Army military expedition begins in Romney, West Virginia (US Civil War)
Jan 16 Hartley Colliery disaster in Northumberland, England, results in 204 deaths
Jan 17 -Jan 22nd) BBT Ft Henry, Tennessee by USS Lexington
Jan 18 Confederate Territory of Arizona forms
Jan 19 Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky (Fishing Creek, Logan's Crossroads)
Jan 22 Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20
Jan 23 Agoston Haraszthy, 1st vintner in Sonoma Valley, California imports 10,000 grape vine cuttings
Jan 24 Romanian principality arises under King Alexander Cuza. Bucharest proclaimed its capital.

Lincoln and McClellan Clash

Jan 26 Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a Union offensive, General George McClellan ignores order

Jan 30 USS Monitor, the US Navy's 1st ironclad warship launched
Jan 31 Astronomer Alvan Graham Clark makes first observation of Sirius B (first known white dwarf star) in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts while testing his new telescope
Feb 1 Julia Howe publishes "Battle Hymn of Republic"

Emerson and Sumner Meet Lincoln

Feb 1 Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Sumner meet with President Abraham Lincoln at The White House, Washington

Feb 6 American Civil War: Naval engagement on Tennessee River, USS Conestago vs CSS Appleton Belle

Battle of Fort Henry

Feb 6 General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee

Union General and US President Ulysses S. Grant

Feb 7 Federal fleet attack on Roanoke Island, North Carolina
Feb 8 Battle of Roanoke Island NC, Federals gain control of Pamlico Sound
Feb 10 Dutch 2nd government of Thorbecke forms

Lily of Killarney

Feb 10 Julius Benedict and Dion Boucicault's opera "Lily of Killarney" premieres at Convent Garden in London

Feb 13 -Feb 16th) Siege of Ft Donelson, Tennessee
Feb 14 Galena, 1st US iron-clad warship for service at sea, launched, Connecticut
Feb 15 Grant's major assault on Ft Donelson, Tennessee
Feb 16 Fort Donelson is captured by General Ulysses S. Grant following the surrender of around 12,000 Confederate soldiers

Battle of Valverde

Feb 21 Texas Rangers win Confederate victory at Battle of Valverde, Confederate Arizona (now New Mexico)

Feb 21 US Confederate Constitution and presidency come into effect, last until the end of the Civil War in 1865

United States One Dollar Bill

Feb 25 First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America

Image of the first US one dollar bill (United States Note) issued in 1862

Feb 26 Battle of Woodburn, Kentucky

La Reine de Saba

Feb 28 Charles Gounod's opera "La Reine de Saba" premieres in Paris

Mar 3 Union forces under General Pope lay siege to New Madrid, Missouri (US Civil War)
Mar 5 Union troops under Brigadier General Wright occupy Fernandina, Florida (US Civil War)
Mar 6 Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas (Elkhorn Tavern)
Mar 7 US Civil War: Battle of Pea Ridge (aka Elkhorn Tavern) (Arkansas), Day 2, Confederate Generals Ben McCulloch & James McIntosh killed
Mar 8 Battle of Elkhorn Tavern ends with Confederate withdrawal
Mar 8 Confederate ironclad "Merrimack" launched
Mar 8 Naval Engagement at Hampton Roads, VA CSS Virginia, Jamestown & Yorktown vs USS Cumberland, Congress & Monitor
Mar 9 USS Monitor and CSS Merrimack battle in Hampton Roads
Mar 10 Great Britain & France recognise independence of Zanzibar
Mar 10 US issues 1st paper money in the form of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000 notes
Mar 11 Abraham Lincoln removes George McClellan as General-in-Chief of the US Army
Mar 11 Confederate General Stonewall Jackson begins evacuation of Winchester, Virginia
Mar 12 24th Grand National: Harry Lamplugh wins aboard The Huntsman; first French trained winner; only human fatality recorded in the event, jockey Joe Wynne
Mar 14 Battle of New Bern North Carolina: General Burnside conquers New Bern
Mar 16 Battle at Pound Gap, Kentucky: Confederates separate battles
Mar 22 San Marino & Italy conclude treaty of friendship & cooperation
Mar 23 Battle of Kernstown Virginia, Jackson begins his Valley Campaign
Mar 26 Battle of La Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory (Apache Canyon, Pigeon's Ranch)
Mar 28 Skirmish at Bealeton Station, Virginia
Mar 31 Civil War action at Island #10 on Mississippi River
Apr 1 Shenandoah Valley campaign, Jackson's Battle of Woodstock, Virginia
Apr 4 Peninsular Campaign, launched in southeastern Virginia, aimed at capturing Richmond during US Civil War begins, Confederate victory (US Civil War)
Apr 4 Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia begins (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
Apr 5 Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia ends (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
Apr 6 Battle of Shiloh, Union defeats Confederacy near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee
Apr 7 Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tenn, Island #10 falls
Apr 8 John D. Lynde patents aerosol dispenser
Apr 11 Confederates surrender at Fort Pulaski, Georgia
Apr 12 James Andrews steals Confederate train (General) at Kennesaw, Georgia
Apr 12 Union troops occupy Fort Pulaski, Georgia
Apr 14 Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee

Dickinson, Higginson Correspondence

Apr 15 American poet Emily Dickinson first corresponds with author and future literary mentor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a relationship that lasts the rest of her life

Apr 16 American Confederate Congress approves conscription act for all white males (18-35 years)
Apr 16 Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
Apr 18 Battle of Fort Jackson, Fort St Philip & New Orlean's, Louisiana

1st Pasteurization Test

Apr 20 First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard

Apr 21 Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorodo
Apr 21 Ellen Price Wood's "East Lynne" premieres in Boston

Capture of New Orleans

Apr 25 After the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Union forces under Flag Officer David Farragut request the surrender New Orleans, LA, despite being largely defenseless armed mobs reuse

Apr 29 100,000 federal troops prepare to march into Corinth, Mississippi
Apr 30 Swift Run Gap skirmishes in West Virginia

New Orleans Occupied

May 1 Major General Benjamin Butler's Union forces complete the occupation of New Orleans, after facing no resistance

Union General and US Governor Benjamin Butler

May 4 George McClellan halts his troops before Yorktown, VA as the town is full of armed torpedoes left by CS Brigadier General Gabrial Rains
May 5 Battle at Williamsburg, Virginia, is inconclusive
May 5 French army intervenes in Puebla, Mexico: Cinco de Mayo
May 7 Battle of West Point, Virginia at Eltham's Landing, Barnhamsville
May 7 Much of Enschede, Netherlands, destroyed by fire
May 7 South Dakota Historical Society is founded as the Old Settlers Association of Dakota Territory; organization renamed after statehood attained in 1890
May 8 Valley Campaign: Federals repulsed at Battle of McDowell, Virginia
May 9 Battle of Farmington, Mississippi
May 9 Battle of Fort Pickens, Florida, Pensacola evacuated by Confederates
May 9 US Naval Academy relocated from Annapolis Maryland to Newport, Rhode Island
May 10 Battle of Plum Run Bend, Tennessee
May 11 Confederates scuttle CSS Virginia off Norfolk, Virginia
May 12 Federal troops occupies Baton Rouge, Louisiana
May 14 Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patents chronograph
May 15 -May 17] Battle of Princeton, West Virginia
May 15 Battle of Drewry's Bluff (Fort Darling), Virginia
May 15 Confederate ship Alabama launched as the Enrica at Birkenhead, England, where she had been built in secret
May 15 First baseball enclosure opens at Union Grounds, Brooklyn
May 15 Major General Benjamin Butler issues order (New Orleans) that Confederate women abusing Union soldiers be treated as whores
May 15 US Department of Agriculture created
May 16 Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir builds 1st automobile
May 17 Battle of Princeton West Virginia, ends with about 128 causalities

Homestead Act

May 20 US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900)

May 23 Valley Campaign: Stonewall Jackson takes Fort Royal, Virginia
May 24 Beardslee field telegraph used for 1st time

Westminster Bridge Defies King and Church

May 24 Westminster Bridge across The Thames in London opens, becoming the second such bridge after an earlier bridge fell into decay

The original Westminster Bridge crossed by Wordsworth and as painted by Canaletto

May 25 First Battle of Winchester, Virginia: Stonewall Jackson's Confederate forces achieve major victory
May 27 Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia (Slash Church, Peake's Station)
May 30 Battle of Booneville MS - captured Gen Beauregard evacuates Corinth
May 31 Battle of Seven Pines Virginia (Fair Oaks)
Jun 1 2nd/last day of battle at Fair Oaks/7 Pines Virginia (11,165 casualties)
Jun 1 African Slave Trade Treaty Act: Bilateral treaty between the US and UK abolishing the slave trade in all US possessions

General Lee Assumes Command

Jun 1 General Robert E. Lee assumes command after Joe Johnston is injured at Seven Pines

Jun 2 Raid at Early's: Maryland towards Washington, D.C.
Jun 2 Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederate armies of North Virginia during the American Civil War
Jun 4 Confederates evacuate Fort Pillow, Tennessee
Jun 6 Battle of Memphis fought on the Mississippi River, Union forces defeat Confederate fleet leading to the city's surrender
Jun 6 Skirmish at Harrisonburg, Virginia, sees the Confederates win a minor victory in the Battle of Good's Farm
Jun 7 Skirmish at Union Church, Virginia (Peninsular)
Jun 7 The United States and Britain agree to suppress the slave trade
Jun 7 Union General Benjamin Butler orders William Mumford hanged after he removed and destroyed US flag on display over New Orleans Mint
Jun 8 Valley Campaign-Battle of Cross Keys, Virginia
Jun 9 Battle of Port Republic, last of 5 battles in Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Valley campaign, won by the Confederates

Stuart's Ride Around McClellan

Jun 15 Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart completes his "ride around McClellan"

Jun 19 Slavery outlawed in US territories
Jun 20 Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated
Jun 25 Battle of Oak Grove, Virginia (Orchard, Henrico, French's Field) (Kings's Schoolhouse) Day 1 of 7 Days
Jun 26 Battle of Beaver Dam Creek-Union repulses Confederacy in Virginia
Jun 26 Day 2 of 7 Days-Battle of Mechanicsville VA (Meadow Bridge)
Jun 26 US Army of Virginia established under Gen John Pope
Jun 27 -28] Battle at Garnett's/Golding's Farms, Virginia
Jun 27 Battle of Gaines's Mill, VA (Cold Harbor, Chickahominy Bluffs) Day 3
Jun 28 Day 4 of 7 Day Battle of Savage's Station [Garnett's Farm] in Virginia
Jun 29 Day 5 of 7 day Battle of Savage's Station, Virginia
Jun 30 Battle of Glendale [Frayser's Farm], day 6 of 7 days battles, Virginia Confederate assault attack (US Civil War)

Salammbo

Jun 30 French writer Gustave Flaubert completes his novel "Salammbo"

Tsar Grants Jews Right to Publish

Jul 1 Alexander II of Russia grants Jews right to publish books

Jul 1 Battle at Booneville Mississippi: Confederate superior power driven out
Jul 1 Battle of Malvern Hill [Poindexter's Farm], day 7 of 7 days battles, Union forces repel Confederate attack, Tactical Union victory (US Civil War)
Jul 1 The Russian State Library is founded in Moscow
Jul 1 US Internal Revenue Law imposes 1st federal taxes on inheritance, tobacco and on incomes over $600 (progressive rate)
Jul 2 Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges

Alice in Wonderland

Jul 4 Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) creates Alice in Wonderland for Alice Liddell on a family boat trip on the river Isis (Thames) in Oxford

Author, Novelist. Poet and Mathematician Lewis Carroll

Jul 4 R Morgan's: Tomkinsville, KY to Somerset, KY [->JUL 28]
Jul 6 Skirmish at Devall's Bluff, Arkansas (106 casualties)
Jul 7 Land Grant Act endows state colleges with federal land
Jul 8 Theodore R. Timby is granted a US patent for discharging guns in a revolving turret, using electricity
Jul 8 US Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act signed by Abraham Lincoln (not enforced)

Event of Interest

Jul 9 Confederate General John Hunt Morgan captures Tompkinsville, Kentucky

Event of Interest

Jul 10 US begins construction of Central Pacific Railroad

Business Tycoon and Railroad Executive Mark Hopkins

Business Tycoon and Politician Leland Stanford

Jul 11 Abraham Lincoln appoints General Henry Halleck general-in-chief of Union forces in US Civil war
Jul 12 Federal troops occupy Helena, Arkansas
Jul 12 US Congress authorizes Medal of Honor
Jul 13 Battle of Murfreesboro, fought in Rutherford County, Tennessee begins (Forrest's Raid), Confederate victory (US Civil War)
Jul 15 CSS Arkansas vs USS Carondelet & Queen of the West engage at Yazoo River
Jul 16 David Farragut is 1st Rear Admiral in US Navy
Jul 17 John Hunt Morgan's raid reaches Cynthiana, Kentucky
Jul 17 Naval Engagement at Pascagoula River Mississippi: USS Potomac Expedition
Jul 17 United army officially divides corps
Jul 17 US army authorized to accept African-Americans as laborers
Jul 18 Battle of Newburgh, Indiana - captured by Union forces
Jul 20 Guerrilla campaign in Georgia (Porter's & Poindexter's) [->SEP 20]
Jul 23 President Lincoln names Army of the Potomac Gen. Henry Halleck as US Army General-in-Chief
Jul 27 Massive typhoon hits Canton and Whampoa in China; at least 40,000 die
Jul 27 Steamer "Golden Gate" burns and sinks off west coast of Mexico
Jul 28 Confederate forces defeated at More's Hill, Missouri
Jul 29 American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
Aug 4 US government collects its 1st income tax
Aug 5 Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Union forces prevent Confederate attempts to capture the city
Aug 6 Confederate ironclad "Arkansas" is badly damaged in Union attack
Aug 9 Battle of Cedar Mountain [Slaughter's Mountain], fought in Culpeper County, Virginia, Confederate victory (US Civil War)

Beatrice et Benedict

Aug 9 Hector Berlioz's opera "Beatrice et Benedict" premieres in Baden-Baden, Germany

Aug 10 Battle of Nueces River TX
Aug 12 Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his raiders capture Gallatin, Texas
Aug 14 Abraham Lincoln receives the first group of African Americans to confer with a US president
Aug 17 Confederate troops under Edmund Kirby Smith enter Kentucky
Aug 18 General Lee's adjutant Major Stuart captured [1]
Aug 18 Sioux Indians begin uprising in Minnesota (it is later crushed)
Aug 21 The Vienna Stadtpark, the first public park and garden in Veinna, Austria opens its gates
Aug 22 Battle of Catlett's Station, VA
Aug 22 Santee Sioux indian attack Fort Ridgely
Aug 22 US Civil War: Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart captures the dress coat of Union Major General John Pope at Catlett Station, Virginia [1]
Aug 23 Skirmish at Big Hill, Kentucky (2 Federal regiments)
Aug 25 US Secretary of War authorizes Gen Rufus Saxton to arm 5,000 slaves
Aug 28 Battle of Groveton, Virginia (Manassas Plains) [->AUG 19]
Aug 28 Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, Virginia
Aug 28 Belle Boyd released from Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C.
Aug 29 Battle of Aspromonte; Italian royal forces defeat rebels

Second Battle of Bull Run

Aug 29 Second Battle of Bull Run, fought in Manassas, Virginia begins, Confederate victory (US Civil War)

Aug 29 US Bureau of Engraving & Printing begins operation
Aug 29 US Department of the Treasury forms division now known as US Bureau of Engraving and Printing to print newly issued paper currency
Aug 30 Battle of Altamont-Confederates beat Union forces in Tennessee
Aug 30 Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, ends with a Confederate victory over Union forces
Sep 1 Battle at Chantilly (Ox Hill) Virginia (2100 casualties)
Sep 1 Federal tax levied on tobacco
Sep 4 General Lee begins the Maryland Campaign invading the North with 50,000 Confederate troops (US Civil war)
Sep 4 North Beach & Mission Railway Company organized in San Francisco
Sep 5 Confederate General Robert E. Lee crosses the Potomac and enters Maryland
Sep 6 Stonewall Jackson occupies Frederick, Maryland
Sep 9 Robert E. Lee splits his army & sends Jackson to capture Harpers Ferry

British Golf Open

Sep 11 British Open Men's Golf, Prestwick GC: Tom Morris Sr retains his title; beats Willie Park Sr. by 3 strokes

Sep 12 Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia: Stonewall Jackson's Confederate force attacks and later captures the Union held town
Sep 14 Battle at Crampton's Gap: Union troops win a tactical victory over Confederate forces
Sep 14 Battle at South Mountain: Union troops defeat an outnumbered Confederate force