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 6, 1862 Fort Henry
February 11-16, 1862 Fort Donelson
February 20-21, 1862 Valverde

February 25: Nashville is first Confederate state capital to fall to Union forces

February 28-April 8, 1862 New Madrid

March 1862 -- 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 Peninsular Campaign.

February 7-8, 1862 Roanoke Island / Fort Huger

March 6-8-- Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn set out to outflank the Union position near Pea Ridge, 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. Gen. Ben McCulloch and Brig. Gen. 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.

March 6-8, 1862 Pea Ridge / Elkhorn Tavern
March 8-9, 1862 Hampton Roads / Battle of the Ironclads

March 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 .

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

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

April 16: Confederates enact conscription.

April 1861 -- 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.

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 Peninsular Campaign.
In April, General McClellan's troops left northern Virginia to begin the Peninsular 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 -- "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.

May 5, 1862 Williamsburg / Fort Magruder
May 7, 1862 Eltham's Landing Barhamsville / West Point
May 8, 1862 McDowell / Sitlington's Hill
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

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.

TIME LINE CONTINUED

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