Civil War - 1862

The Confederate Heartland Campaign, also known as Bragg’s Invasion of Kentucky, was a Confederate invasion of the border state of Kentucky in 1862. Although Confederate forces were largely successful on the battlefield, General Braxton Bragg abandoned the campaign and retreated to Tennessee, leaving Kentucky under Union control.

Fort Pulaski Battle facts, including dates, location, casualties, leaders, who won, and more interesting facts you might not know.

Fought on April 10–11, 1862, the Battle of Fort Pulaski revolutionized siege warfare and effectively strangled shipping to and from the port city of Savannah, Georgia, for the rest of the Civil War.

On December 24, 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued General Order, No. 111 (CSA) designating Major General Benjamin Butler and all officers serving under him as "as robbers and criminals deserving death." Davis' order also stated that "That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once delivered over to the executive authorities of the respective States to which they belong to be dealt with according to the laws of said States."

On August 21, 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued General Order No. 60 declaring Union Major General David Hunter an outlaw because Hunter had issued General Order No. 11 (Department of the South), on May 9, 1862, which emancipated slaves in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

The Kanawha Valley Campaign was a Confederate offensive conducted in Western Virginia from September 6–16, 1862. Confederate General William Wing Loring’s forces drove Union troops from Fayetteville, captured Charleston, and pursued Colonel Joseph A.J. Lightburn’s command across the Ohio River. Although the campaign ended in a Confederate victory, Union forces regained control of the Kanawha Valley by November 1862.

The Maryland Campaign was General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North during the Civil War. Confederate forces entered Maryland in September 1862 and fought Union forces at South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, and Shepherdstown. The campaign ended after Lee withdrew across the Potomac River, giving the Union a strategic victory and allowing President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

The Northern Virginia Campaign was fought from July 19 to September 1, 1862, between Union and Confederate forces in Northern Virginia. Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia defeated General John Pope’s Army of Virginia through a series of engagements that included Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, and Chantilly. The Confederate victory allowed Lee to launch the Maryland Campaign, while the Union dissolved the Army of Virginia and merged it with the Army of the Potomac.

The Pea Ridge Campaign was a six-month Union offensive in Missouri and Arkansas from December 28, 1861, to July 12, 1862. General Samuel R. Curtis drove Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard out of Missouri, defeated Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West at the Battle of Pea Ridge, and advanced across Arkansas. The campaign ended when Curtis occupied Helena, Arkansas, which became an important Union base for operations along the Mississippi River.

The Peninsula Campaign was a Union offensive led by George B. McClellan in 1862 to capture Richmond, Virginia, and end the Civil War quickly. McClellan advanced up the Virginia Peninsula but repeatedly delayed his movements because he overestimated Confederate troop strength. After Robert E. Lee took command of Confederate forces, the Seven Days Battles drove the Army of the Potomac away from Richmond, and the campaign ended in a Confederate victory.

Also known as Jackson's Valley Campaign, the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, was remarkable for the adroit tactics of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who out-maneuvered and defeated three Union armies during the spring of 1862.

The Stones River Campaign was a short Union offensive from December 26, 1862, to January 3, 1863. The campaign included one major engagement, the Battle of Stones River, where General William S. Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland defeated General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. The victory forced Bragg to withdraw to Tullahoma and ended Confederate control of Middle Tennessee.

The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap was fought on August 28, 1862, during the Northern Virginia Campaign. Confederate forces under James Longstreet forced Union troops to withdraw from the mountain passage, allowing Longstreet to join forces with Stonewall Jackson. The Confederate victory helped set the stage for the Confederate victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

The Vicksburg Campaign was a major Union offensive from December 26, 1862, to July 4, 1863, that ended with the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. General Ulysses S. Grant led Union forces through a series of operations that isolated the city and trapped General John C. Pemberton’s Confederate army. The victory gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River and severed Confederate connections with territories in the American West.