These US Civil War dates are primarily for the western theater of the war, between the western slope of the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. For the eastern theater, see this US Civil War Timeline 1862.
From January through June, Union forces thrust deep into the South, forcing Confederates to abandon southern Kentucky, much of Middle and West Tennessee, and southwest Missouri following defeats at Mill Springs, Kentucky, Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, and Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Early in April, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston's army assails Federal troops under Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, But Johnston is killed and his army beaten in the two-day battle of Shiloh. In Mississippi in June, Union amphibious forces converge on but fail to capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg.
July brings a dramatic change in the tide of war as Confederate armies invade Union territory from the trans-Mississippi to the Atlantic seaboard. By early October, however, the offensives are halted, and during the last two months of the year Federal forces are again pressing ahead. In Middle Tennessee on December 31 Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Union army confronts Gen. Braxton Bragg's Confederate army at Stones River in a battle that lasts into the new year. In north Mississippi, Grant's attempts to take Vicksburg are thwarted by slashing Confederate cavalry raids on his supply lines. The blockade tightens as Union forces capture Roanoke Island and Fort Macon on the North Carolina sounds and bombard Fort Pulaski, Georgia, into surrender.
Jan 19 Battle of Mill Springs, Ky.
Feb 6-16 Forts Henry & Donelson Campaign, Tenn.
Feb 6 Battle of Fort Henry
Feb 13-16 Battle of Fort Donelson
Feb 8 Battle of Roanoke Island, N.C.
Feb 21 Engagement at Valverde, New Mexico Territory
Mar 6-8 Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark.
Mar 26-28 Battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory
Apr 6-7 Battle of Shiloh, Tenn.
Apr 7 Capture of Island No. 10, Tenn.
Apr 10-11 Bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski, Ga.
Apr 29-May 30 Siege of Corinth, Miss.
Apr-Aug Farragut's Mississippi River Operations
Apr 18-24 Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, La.
Aug 5 Battle of Baton Rouge, La.
Jun 6 Battle of Memphis, Tenn.
Aug 29-30 Battle of Richmond, Ky.
Sep 19 Battle of Luka, Miss.
Sep 14-17 Siege of Munfordville, Ky.
Oct 3-4 Battle of Corinth, Miss.
Oct 8 Battle of Perryville, Ky.
Oct 16-Dec 20 Grant's First Vicksburg Campaign, Miss.
Dec 11-Jan 1 Forrest's West Tennessee Raid
Dec 17-28 Van Dorn's Holly Springs Raid
Dec 7 Battle of Prairie Grove, Ark.
Dec 27-29 Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Miss.
Dec 31 Battle of Stones River, Tenn., begins.
Source materials published by the National Park Service were used to create this page on US Civil War dates for 1862.
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