Co-written by Zeke and Houston

Important or Major Battles in 1862 

• Battle of Fort Donelson
• Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern)
• Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing)
• Seven days Battles
• Shenandoah Valley Campaign (Jackson’s Valley Campaign)
• Capture of New Orleans
• Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)
• Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
• Second Battle of Corinth
• Battle of Perryville (Chaplin Hills)
• Battle of Fredericksburg

During 1862 on the Western Front of the war, Tennessee was almost 100% occupied by Union forces. Further south, Louisiana was invaded by sea and New Orleans was captured and Mississippi was invaded by Union troops along the Mississippi River. 

Five different civilized Indian tribes allied themselves with the Confederate States. These tribes were: the Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and Cherokee fighting with the nickname “Braves” under General Stand Watie in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. These tribes fought in numerous battles in the states they were from.

Rebels in Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were, for the most part, exterminated. In May, the Confederacy gained the Southern half of Arizona and New Mexico, after the people there voted to join the Confederacy, then tried to take the rest of the New Mexico territory by invasion, but by July Union forces had taken it back and invaded parts of West Texas.

In August and September, a Confederate campaign was launched into Kentucky by General Braxton Bragg. The goal of the campaign was to draw a neutral Kentucky out of Union control and have one more Confederate state. Bragg launched the invasion directly up the middle of the state, splitting it in half, and even raiding Cincinnati before being pushed back into Eastern Tennessee. 

During 1862, the entire North Carolina coast was captured and occupied by the Federals.    

Political Situation

In 1862, Lincoln’s reason for war was still for the preservation of the Union and not for the ending of slavery. But that would soon change in 1863 with his famous Emancipation Proclamation, while although not actually freeing any slaves in the south, made the war about slavery.

Battle of Fort Donelson

The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11-16, 1862 in Stewart County, Tennessee on the banks of the Tennessee River. It was a prominent Union victory with the Federals taking 2,691 casualties and the Confederates having about 2,000. The Union under General Ulysses S. Grant besieged the fort for five days until the Confederates surrendered, capturing 12,963 men.

General Grant did extremely well during the battle and would later be promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Union army. The Battle of Fort Donelson was a major loss for the Confederates and a major victory for the Union.

Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern)

The Battle of Pea Ridge was a decisive Battle in Benton County, Arkansas and took place from March 7-8, 1862. An army of about 10,500 men led by Confederate General Sterling Price fought at Pea Ridge against Union General Franz Sigel. It was another Union victory in Western Theatre with Union casualties being 203 killed, 980 wounded and 201 missing, while the Confederates had about 2,000 casualties.

Pea Ridge was the costliest civil war battle in Arkansas. Cherokee Indians fought alongside Confederates under command of Cherokee General Stand Watie. Texas Confederate General Benjamin McCulloch was also killed at the battle. 

Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) 

The Battle of Shiloh was a major battle fought in Hardin County, Tennessee from April 6-7, 1862 and one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war. A group of 63,000 men led by Union General Ulysses S. Grant fought against an army of 40,335 led by Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. The armies battled for two days in the Southwestern Tennessee wilderness. The Union came out on top having 13,047 casualties with the Confederate 10,699. 

Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnson was killed during the battle and the Confederates were forced to retreat. The Battle of Shiloh was part of the Shiloh Campaign, in which the Union tried to take control of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in Western Tennessee, and with the help of Union General Grant, they would succeed. 

Seven days Battles 

The Seven days Battles were a series of battles in Henrico County, Virginia: The Battle of Seven pines, Malvern Hill, Gaines Farm, Savage’s Station, Glendale, Beaver Dam Creek, and Garnett’s Farm of which the Confederates won all of them. They were fought from June 25-July 1, 1862. It was part of the Peninsula Campaign, which was Union General George McCllelan’s failed attempt at invading Virginia and taking Richmond by the Virginia Peninsula. McCllelan’s army of 114,000 men made it all the way to the outskirts of Richmond, but were pushed back by a Confederate force of 92,000.

General Robert E. Lee of the Army of Northern Virginia, along with other Generals, such as Texas General John Bell Hood, pushed back the Federals in these Seven battles, the worst being the Battle of Seven Pines. The Seven days Battles were probably the highest point in Confederate moral and strength of the whole war. 

Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 (Jackson’s Valley Campaign)

The Shenandoah Valley Campaign took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from March-June, 1862. There were six different battles in the campaign, The Battle of Kernstown, McDowell, Front Royal, First Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. It was nicknamed Jackson’s Valley Campaign because Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson was the main commander of the campaign.

Even though the whole campaign there were only 7,984 casualties in all (5,307 Union, 2,677 Confederate) it was a very important campaign. The Confederates were the victor and because he used his vast military knowledge Stonewall Jackson was able to win all but one battle (The Battle of Front Royal). Overall, it was a major victory for the CSA because they gained control of the Shenandoah River and the Shenandoah Valley.

Capture of New Orleans

Although there was no fighting (except for a minor clash between gunboats) the Capture of New Orleans was very important, because the Union took the key Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana, which gave them entrance to the Deep South. Union General Ben Butler commanded the fleet of union gunboats to take the city, from April 25-May 1, 1862. Not much fighting occurred but the Union did gain control of a key Southern city. 

Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) 

The Second Battle of Manassas was fought from August 29-30, 1862 in Manassas, Virginia. Confederate General Robert E. Lee fought against Union armies commanded by General John Pope. It was an astounding victory for the Confederacy, and a horrible defeat for the Union. Even while Confederates were outnumbered, by 20,000 troops, they only took 7,298 casualties, while the Union had a crushing 14,462 casualties. 

Robert E. Lee was also accompanied by General Stonewall Jackson, General J.E.B. Stuart, main commander of the Confederate Cavalry, and General James Longstreet, maybe the four best Confederate Generals. 

Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) 

The Battle of Antietam was a major battle fought on September 17, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was tactically inconclusive, but it was a strategic Union victory.

Up until this point, Lee’s army had only defended against the Union, never going on the attack, but finally Lee decided to take the fight to the North. Lee hoped that if he could cut off Washington D.C. from the rest of the North they would surrender. 

It only lasted one day, but the day of the engagment, September 17, 1862 holds the title as the bloodiest single day in American history. The Union had about 12,410, versus the Confederate 10,316 casualties, making that around 23,000. The Battle of Antietam was part of the Maryland Campaign. 

Confederate Armies only had 38,000 men and the Union had 87,000, more than twice the Confederate size. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia fought alongside the Texas Brigade at the battle.  

Second battle of Corinth 

The Second Battle of Corinth took place from October 3-4, 1862 in the town of Corinth, Mississippi. An army of 23,000 Union troops commanded by General William Rosecrans fought outside the town of Corinth against the Confederate army of 22,000 men commanded by General Earl Van Dorn. The Union won the battle, having 2,520 casualties against the Confederate 4,233 casualties. 

The Second Battle of Corinth was one of the most costly battles in the Western Theatre of the war. Union General Grant was also commanding troops in the Corinth Campaign, but he wasn’t actually at the battle. 

Battle of Perryville (Chaplin Hills) 

The Battle of Perryville occurred on October 8, 1862 near Perryville, Kentucky. Perryville was the bloodiest battle in Kentucky, with the Union having 4,241 casualties and Confederate casualties being 3,396. It was part of the Kentucky Campaign or the Confederate Heartland Offensive, in which the Confederates under General Braxton Bragg attempted to liberate Kentucky and possibly cut the Union in half by going up through Kentucky and invading Indiana and Ohio. 

The Confederates had already been pushed back out of Northern Kentucky earlier that year, and were defeated at Perryville, which is in Central Kentucky. The commanding Union general was General Don Carlos Bell. Bragg was accompanied by Generals Leonidas Polk and William J. Hardee.

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought from December 11-15, 1862. It was a crucial battle and astounding victory for the Confederates. The Union had 12,653 casualties and the Confederates only had 5,377. General Ambrose E. Burnside, the commanding Union General, ordered that they try to break the Confederate line commanded by General Stonewall Jackson at Marye’s Heights. The Union sent line after line of men that were gunned down by the Confederate artillery and guns, and Burnside was forced to retreat.

It was part of the Fredericksburg Campaign, that ended at Fredericksburg in which the Union tried to invade Richmond by the north.