Civil War Timeline / Chronology for April 1862

April 4, 1862	From Fort Monroe federal troops begin movement towards Richmond
	Richmond, Virginia
	Peninsula Campaign
April 5, 1862 May 4, 1862	Siege of Yorktown George McClellan invests Yorktown until Joe Johnston completes a withdrawal on May 4.	Virginia
	Joseph E. Johnston
	George McClellan
	Peninsula Campaign
	Siege of Yorktown
	William Farrar Smith
	Gouverneur K. Warren
April 6, 1862 April 7, 1862	Battle of Pittsburg Landing [Union] Battle of Shiloh [Confederate] Ulysses S. Grant [US] defeats Albert Sidney Johnston [CS] in southwest Tennessee. P. G. T. Beauregard assumed command following Johnston's death Confederate Losses 1,723 dead 8,012 wounded 959 missing Union Losses 1,754 dead 8,408 wounded 2,885 missing	Tennessee
	Ulysses S. Grant
	Sherman's Memoirs on Shiloh
	P. G. T. Beauregard
	Battle of Shiloh
	Braxton Bragg
	William Tecumseh Sherman
	Bloodiest Civil War battles
	Don Carlos Buell
	Albert Sidney Johnston
	John Breckinridge
	William Hardee
	William 'Bull' Nelson
	Lew Wallace
	Lew Wallace at Shiloh
	Army of the Tennessee
	James McPherson
	Army of Mississippi
April 6, 1862	On the first day of the battle of Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing, General Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of the Department of the West is killed while leading an advance against a Union position in a peach orchard.	Tennessee
	Generals Who Died In the Civil War
	Albert Sidney Johnston
April 7, 1862	Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River downstream from New Madrid, is captured. More than 5,000 Confederates are taken prisoner	Missouri
	John Pope
April 8, 1862	Following a disasterous second day at Pittsburg Landing, Confederates withdraw to Corinth, Mississippi	Tennessee
	Battle of Shiloh
	Army of Mississippi
April 10, 1862 April 11, 1862	Battle of Fort Pulaski Quincy Gillmore uses rifled cannon to effectively end the use of palisaded forts world-wide	Georgia
	Fort Pulaski
	Quincy A. Gillmore
April 11, 1862	Halleck assumes personal command of the forces at Pittsburg Landing, the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Ohio
	Henry Halleck
	Army of the Tennessee
	Army of the Ohio
April 11, 1862	General Fitz-John Porter [US] decides to ride in an observation balloon alone when inventor Thaddeus Lowe takes a sick-day. In flight, the balloon tether breaks, and Porter nearly crosses into enemy territory. A last minute change in wind direction returned him to Union lines.
	Fitz-John Porter
April 12, 1862	The Great Locomotive Chase
	The Great Locomotive Chase
	Western and Atlantic Railroad
April 12, 1862	Combining the Confederate Army of the Potomac with John Magruder's Army of the Peninsula and a large garrison at Norfolk, President Jefferson Davis creates the Army of Northern Virginia.
	Army of Northern Virginia
	Jefferson Davis
	Joseph E. Johnston
	Peninsula Campaign
	John Magruder
April 14, 1862	Federal fleet under Commadore David Farragut appears at the mouth of the Mississippi River.	Louisiana
	David Farragut
	Battle of New Orleans
April 15, 1862	Union naval forces enter the mouth of the Mississippi and sail up the river to Fort Jackson
	Battle of New Orleans
April 16, 1862	President Lincoln signs legislation freeing the estimated 3,500 slaves in Washington, D. C.
	Abraham Lincoln
	Washington D. C.
April 16, 1862	Battle of Dam No. 1 Attempting to break the Yorktown Line, forces under General Winfield Scott Hancock [CS] engage General John Magruder [CS]. This battle is sometimes noted as the Battle of Lee's Mill or Burnt Chimneys.	Virginia
	Lafayette McLaws
	Siege of Yorktown
	Peninsula Campaign
	John Magruder
April 16, 1862	Confederate Congress passes a conscription law
April 18, 1862	Federal fleet begins a 5-day bombardment of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip	Louisiana
	Battle of New Orleans
April 19, 1862	The Joint Committee on Flag and Seal backs the flag proposed earlier by Barnwell Rhett. The Confederate House eventually tables the design.
	Robert Barnwell Rhett
	Flags of the Civil War
April 24, 1862	Early in the morning Commadore Farragut ships begin sailing up the Mississippi River past Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phillip. After half the fleet sails past the fort the Confederates discover the movement and open fire. All major federal ships make it past the forts.	Louisiana
	David Farragut
	Battle of New Orleans
April 25, 1862	After a duel with Confederate ships at English Turn, Commadore Farragut's fleet weighs anchor at New Orleans and demands the surrender of the largest city and most important port in the South. By the time Farragut arrives the city was partially on fire.	Louisiana
	David Farragut
	Battle of New Orleans
April 25, 1862	George Thomas promoted to major general
	George Thomas
April 25, 1862	General John C. Parke [US] bombards Fort Macon, near Beaufort, following a month-long siege of the fort. Colonel Moses White had no choice but to surrender.	North Carolina
April 28, 1862	City of New Orleans surrenders
	Battle of New Orleans
April 29, 1862	Battle of Bridgeport	Alabama
April 29, 1862	Under the command of Henry Halleck, the Army of the Tennessee begins to advance on Corinth	Mississippi
	Henry Halleck
	Army of the Tennessee