Civil War Timeline / Chronology for March 1862

March 2, 1862	Leonidas Polk completes his withdrawal from Columbus. He moves south to New Madrid, Missouri.	Kentucky
	Leonidas Polk
March 3, 1862	Abraham Lincoln appoints Andrew Johnson to be military governor of Tennessee	Tennessee
	Abraham Lincoln
	Andrew Johnson
March 3, 1862	General John Pope lays siege to New Madrid	Missouri
	John Pope
March 4, 1862	Over what is generally regarded as a communication problem, Halleck relieves Grant from command and replaces him with Charles Ferguson Smith.
	Ulysses S. Grant
	Henry Halleck
March 6, 1862 March 8, 1862	Battle of Pea Ridge [US] Battle of Elkhorn Tavern [CS]	Arkansas
	Earl Van Dorn
	Sterling Price
March 6, 1862	Abraham Lincoln proposes that slaves in the border states be emancipated gradually, with compensation to the owners
	Abraham Lincoln
March 6, 1862	The Monitor, the first Union ironclad, departs from New York
March 6, 1862	Barnwell Rhett proposes a yellow sun in a blue shield with a ray for each state. It would eliminate the stars and the red, white, and blue combinations of the Yankee flag	South Carolina
	Robert Barnwell Rhett
	Flags of the Civil War
March 8, 1862	The Merrimac (CSS Virginia) battles the USS Congress and the USS Cumberland, destroying both frigates and killing more than 240 of their crewmen.
March 8, 1862	Joseph E. Johnston orders the Confederate Army of the Potomac to withdraw from Centerville/Manassas to the Rappahannock River based on reports from JEB Stuart of increased Yankee activity	Virginia
	Joseph E. Johnston
	Army of Northern Virginia
	J. E. B. Stuart
March 8, 1862	Abraham Lincoln, chagrined at George McClellan for not appointing corps commanders, names Edwin Vose Sumnner, Samuel Heintzelman, Erasmus Keyes and Irvin McDowell for him.
	Irvin McDowell
	Abraham Lincoln
	George McClellan
	Edwin Vose Sumner
	Samuel Heintzelman
March 9, 1862	Battle of Hampton Roads The duel of the ironclads, The Monitor and The Merrimac (CSS Virginia). First use of a turreted gun.	Virginia
	Hampton Roads
	Civil War Firsts
March 11, 1862	President Lincoln relieves George McClellan as General-in-Chief of the U. S. Army. He continues as commander of the Army of the Potomac
	General-in-Chief, U. S. Army
	George McClellan
	Abraham Lincoln
	Army of the Potomac
March 11, 1862	President Lincoln puts Henry Halleck in charge of all forces in the West. Lincoln also creates the Mountain Department, covering West Virginia and the mountainous area of Virginia. John Fremont is put in command.
	Henry Halleck
	John C. Fremont
March 11, 1862	For their disasterous performance at Fort Donelson, President Jefferson Davis relieves John Floyd and Gideon Pillow from command.
	John Floyd
	Gideon Pillow
	Jefferson Davis
March 12, 1862	Jacksonville is occupied by Union naval forces	Florida
March 13, 1862	Grant is reinstated to his command
	Ulysses S. Grant
March 13, 1862	Jefferson Davis orders Robert E. Lee to "...conduct military operations of the armies of the Confederacy."
	Jefferson Davis
	Robert E. Lee
March 14, 1862	Battle of New Bern (sometimes called Newberne) Ambrose Burnsides [US] captures the city	North Carolina
	Ambrose Burnside
March 14, 1862	Following a two week siege, federals under John Pope take New Madrid.	Missouri
	John Pope
March 15, 1862	William Tecumseh Sherman and Stephen Hurlbut arrive at Pittsburg Landing and move inland to Shiloh Baptist Church.
	William Tecumseh Sherman
	Battle of Shiloh
March 17, 1862	Ulysses S. Grant assumes command of the forces at Pittsburg Landing.
	Ulysses S. Grant
	Battle of Shiloh
March 17, 1862	George McClellan begins transporting his men to Fort Monroe for the Peninsula Campaign	Virginia
	George McClellan
	Peninsula Campaign
March 17, 1862	Major General Lew Wallace and his division stop at Crump's Landing to destroy the tracks of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.	Tennessee
	Battle of Shiloh
	Lew Wallace
	Lew Wallace at Shiloh
March 18, 1862	Jefferson Davis moves Judah Benjamin from the War Department to Secretary of State, replacing R. M. T. Hunter. George Randolph of Virginia is appointed Secretary of War.
	Jefferson Davis
March 19, 1862	Following more than $10,000 in renovations, Ford's Theater reopens for business (Ford's Athenaeum was the name at the time)
	Ford's Theater
March 20, 1862	Threatened by Stonewall Jackson, Nathaniel Banks withdraws from Strasburg to Winchester	Virginia
	Stonewall Jackson
	Nathaniel Banks
March 23, 1862	John Parke [US] demands the surrender of Fort Macon on the coast of North Carolina. When the Confederates refuse, he lays siege to the fort	North Carolina
March 23, 1862	Battle of Kernstown In the first battle of the Shenandoah Campaign, Major General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson [CS] loses to Brig. General James Shields [US]	Virginia
	Stonewall Jackson
March 24, 1862	Albert Sidney Johnston's Army arrives at Corinth from Murfreesboro, Tennessee	Mississippi
	Albert Sidney Johnston
	Battle of Shiloh
March 26, 1862	Moving along the Santa Fe Trail, Confederates engaged a group of Colorado volunteers at Johnson's Ranch. Federal forces withdraw to Glorietta.
March 28, 1862	Jefferson Davis proposes a conscription bill, shocking many Southerners.
	Jefferson Davis
March 29, 1862	The Central Army of Kentucky and the Army of Alabama and West Florida, and is merged into the Army of Mississippi in Corinth under Albert Sidney Johnston with P. G. T. Beauregard as second-in-command. Corps commanders are Braxton Bragg, Leonidas Polk, William Hardee and George Crittenden.	Mississippi
	Albert Sidney Johnston
	P. G. T. Beauregard
	Braxton Bragg
	Leonidas Polk
	William Hardee
	Central Army of Kentucky
	Army of Mississippi
March 30, 1862	B&O reopens following six months of Confederate control in Maryland and West Virginia
	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad