Troop engagements of the American Civil War, 1862

The following is a list of engagements that took place in 1862 during the American Civil War. During the winter and early spring of the year, Union forces gained several successes over the Confederacy, seizing control of Missouri, northern Arkansas, Kentucky, and western Tennessee, along with several coastal areas. Confederate forces defended the capital of Richmond, Virginia, from Union assaults, and then launched counter–offensives into Kentucky and Maryland, both of which end in Union victories.

In the Eastern Theater, the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, was transported to Fort Monroe in April to begin an offensive against Richmond, Virginia. Convinced that he was outnumbered by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, McClellan advanced cautiously, taking nearly a month to capture the Confederate defensive works near Yorktown and an additional month to march westward and arrive just outside Richmond. Here on May 31, Johnston attacked an isolated portion of the Union army in the Battle of Seven Pines; Johnston's plan failed, due to uncoordinated attacks and to Confederate columns which failed to arrive at their assigned positions, and Johnston was wounded during the battle. To replace Johnston, Confederate President Jefferson Davis choose General Robert E. Lee, who launched the Seven Days Battles in late June. While the Confederate attacks were often disjointed and several commands failed to arrive at their assigned destinations on time, Lee was still able to drive the Union army back to Harrison's Landing, forcing McClellan to give up his attempt to capture Richmond. Although he had driven the Union army away from the Confederate capital, Lee was disappointed that he had failed to destroy the Union army.

Lee then turned northward to deal with the Union Army of Virginia, commanded by Major General John Pope, planning to defeat Pope's army before it could unite with McClellan's army, which was arriving in northern Virginia from the Peninsula. During the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee routed Pope's army and then invaded Maryland, hoping to seize supplies from Union territory and also hoping that a major Confederate victory in Northern territory would secure foreign recognition for the Confederacy. However, McClellan attacked Lee through the passes of South Mountain and forced Lee to call off his planned invasion of Pennsylvania, instead concentrating his army behind Antietam Creek. Neither army gained a victory at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, but Lee's retreat back to Virginia gave the Union a strategic victory in the campaign. During October and November, Union President Abraham Lincoln pressured McClellan to launch an aggressive campaign against Lee but McClellan refused, instead moving slowly and demanding supplies. Lincoln replaced McClellan on November 7 with Major General Ambrose Burnside, who hoped to cross the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Virginia in order to get between Lee and Richmond. However, delays in obtaining a pontoon bridge prevented Burnside from crossing the river until December 11, by which time Lee was able to concentrate his entire army along a series of ridges near Fredericksburg. On December 13, Burnside attacked the Confederate positions and lost heavily; two days later he retreated back across the river and went into winter quarters.

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