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Union victory in Eastern Kentucky but one that failed to allow for the liberation of that pro-Union district.
Union capture of a key fort on the Tennessee River by U.S. Grant. Much of the Confederate garrison retreated to Fort Donelson.
Federal seizure of Roanoke Island gave them control over Albemarle Sound, North Carolina.
10 February 1862: Battle of Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Naval battle that saw the destruction of a small Confederate fleet on the North Carolina coast.
12-16 February 1862: Siege of Fort Donelson, Tennessee
The Confederate command decided to make a stand at Donelson, but only sent 12,000 men, who were soon faced by Grant’s army of 25,000. The fort surrendered, but only after several Confederate commanders escaped, including Nathan Bedford Forest, later a famous cavalry commander. The Union victory soon led to the capture of Nashville.
McClellan moves his army to the tip of the peninsular between the James and York rivers, intending to bypass the Confederate lines and attack Richmond from the east.
Battle that ended a confederate attack from Arkansas that was hoped to cut Grant off from the north.
Two days of fighting that changed naval warfare. 8 March saw the confederates launch the first ironclad battleship, which threatened to destroy the Union army, but on the next day the Federal ironclad appeared, and held off the Confederates.
Union forces drive Confederate garrison out of New Madrid.
14 March 1862: Battle of New Berne, North Carolina
Second Union success during the Burnside expedition on the North Carolina coast. New Berne remained in Union hands for the rest of the war
Stonewall Jackson attacked a much larger Union army at Kernstown (Shenandoah valley), thinking he was only facing a rearguard. Although he was defeated, Lincoln assumed that Jackson must have a large army to take such risks, and withheld some troops from McClellan on the Peninsular.
29 March-26 April 1862: Siege of Fort Macon, North Carolina
Union capture of Fort Macon closses Beaufort, one of the last ports open to the Confederates on the North Carolina coastline.
A small Confederate army behind weak fortifications held off McClellan, before withdrawing as he finally prepared a bombardment.
Confederate attempt to defeat Grant’s army of 40,000 before a second force of 25,000 under Buell could join it. The first day of the battle saw Grant nearly defeated, but on the second day Buell arrived and Grant was able to counterattack, forcing the Confederates from the field. General A.S. Johnson, the Confederate commander, was killed during the battle. Shiloh was the first of the really big battles of the Civil War.
Confederate forces on the important Mississippi fort surrender almost without fighting.
The Union capture of Fort Pulaski virtually closses the port of Savannah to Confederate blockade runners.
The only Union assault on the Confederate lines at Yorktown.
Union naval force under Farragut ran the defence of New Orleans and forced the surrender of the Confederacy’s largest city.
19 April 1862: Battle of South Mills
Confederate rearguard action that delayed McClellan even more.
First battle of ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s campaign in the Valley. The battle disrupted General Fremont’s plan to attack south into Eastern Tennessee.
Minor Confederate victory on the Mississippi when their gunboat fleet surprises the Union fleet attacking Fort Pillow.
Confederate gun batteries repulse a Union fleet attempting to reach Richmond.
Jackson’s army destroys the much smaller Union garrison of Front Royal after receiving information from a spy in community.
Jackson’s Confederates defeat a smaller Union army at Winchester, forcing it to pull back to the Potomac.
Confederate attack on the Union army outside Richmond, notable mainly for the wounding of the Confederate commander Joe Johnston, allowing Robert E. Lee to be promoted to command the armies around Richmond.
Naval battle that saw the defeat of the Confederate fleet guarding Memphis and the Union capture of the city.
Part of Jackson’s army holds off a larger Union force.
Jackson marches the rest of his army to join the force at Cross Keys, defeating part of a larger Union force.
Having finally reached the vicinity of Richmond, McClellan found himself the one under attack, as Lee attempted to destroy the Union army, or at least force it away from Richmond. He achieved the second objective.
First fighting of the Seven Days, triggered by McClellan’s only offensive move, a probing reconnaissance.
Part of the Seven Days’ Battles. A Confederate attack launched despite the absence of a large part of the force allocated for it. A clear Union victory.
Seven Days’ Battles. Another Confederate attack that achieved its main aim, but at a high cost.
Failed Confederate attack on the Union army withdrawing from Richmond towards the James River.
Another unsuccessful confederate attack during the Seven Days’ Battle.
Final Confederate attack of the Seven Days’ Battle, and another Confederate defeat. Despite this, McClellan continued to retreat.
First Union attack on Vicksburg, the last major obstacle on the Mississippi. Naval forces from New Orleans and Memphis fail to take the city.
Henry Halleck appointed General in Chief of the Union armies.
Failed Confederate attempt to recapture Baton Rouge, defeated in part by Union gunboats on the river.
A rare Confederate victory from a position of strength. Stonewall Jackson commanded twice the troops of his Union opponent, who still launched an attack which was initially successful but eventually defeated. Cedar Mountain confirmed that the main battle front had moved away from McClellan in the peninsular and back into the area between Richmond and Washington.
An unimpressive Confederate attack launched by Stonewall Jackson that still achieved its main aim of making sure that the Union army was in place for the upcoming Second battle of Bull Run.
Another Confederate victory on the same ground, against a much larger, but very badly handled Union army. The Confederate victory moved the scene of the fighting from the vicinity of Richmond to that of Washington and was a massive boost to the Confederate cause.
Confederate victory over a small Union army, most of which was captured.
Aftermath of Second Bull Run. Lee drove the Union army back to Washington.
Confederate capture of a Union garrison during their invasion of Kentucky
Sluggish Union victory in the campaign that led to Antietam.
A second Federal victory in the build up to Antietam.
Jackson captures Harper’s Ferry, but the expedition had already derailed Lee’s great offensive.
A much needed Union victory that turned back Lee’s invasion of Maryland, leading indirectly to the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and dramatically reduced any chance that Britain would recognise the Confederacy.
Battle in which a Union army under Rosecrans repulsed a Confederate attack.
Defeat of a Confederate attack intended to help General Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky.
Skirmish during the retreat of the Confederate army defeated at Corinth that briefly threatened to result in the capture of that army.
Botched battle in which half of a Union army fought a Confederate army that thought most of the Union army was elsewhere. The Confederates withdrew when it became clear that they were outnumbered three to one.
Army of the Potomac finally crossed the Potomac in pursuit of the Confederates beaten at Antietam, although McClellan still moves slowly.
Lincoln finally replaces McClellan with General Burnside, much to Burnside’s distress.
Defeat of a Confederate army that had been threatening Arkansas for most of 1862.
Burnside’s first offensive ends in a crushing defeat when he foolishly attacked the main Confederate army in their fortified position at Fredericksburg.
Heavy defeat for Sherman in an assault made as part of Grant’s already aborted first campaign against Vicksburg.
Battle between Rosecrans’ army from Nashville and Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee. Both sides suffered heavy casualties (over 30%). Bragg claimed a victory but was then forced to withdraw when Rosecrans did not retreat.