Almanac History - March 1862

March 1st, 1862

Brief skirmishes occur between Union and Confederate troops at Pittsburgh Landing.

March 3rd, 1862

Halleck takes Grant to task for his tardy arrival at Fort Donelson.

March 4th, 1862

General Robert E. Lee is called to Richmond to assume duties as military adviser to President Davis. General John Pemberton replaces him as commander of the Confederate Department of South Carolina.

March 5th, 1862

General Beauregard takes charge of the Confederate defenses in the Mississippi Valley.

March 6th, 1862

President Lincoln requests cooperation from the states in devising ways to abolish slavery.

March 7th, 1862

General McClellan moves his troops toward Manassas, Virginia where General Joe Johnston's Confederate troops are encamped

March 8th, 1862

In General Order #2, President Lincoln provides for Union troops to be placed in defense of Washington, despite the fact that this will weaken the Union offensive.

March 9th, 1862

TheCSS Merrimackand theUSS Monitorclash in the Hampton Roads harbor. The fighting begins around 0900 and lasts until approximately 1100. The exchange of fire is impressive, but neither vessel sustains significant damage.

March 11th, 1862

In General Order #3, Lincoln removes McClellan from his position as General-in-Chief of the Union Armies and gives him command of the Army of the Potomac. He names no new chief at this time.

March 13th, 1862

President Jefferson Davis places Robert E. Lee in charge of all Confederate military positions.

March 14th, 1862

General Burnside's 11,000 men occupy New Berne, North Carolina pushing out some 14,000 of General Branch's Confederates.

March 15th, 1862

General Halleck absolves Grant of charges of misconduct at Fort Donelson and Grant resumes command of the field forces in Tennessee.

March 18th, 1862

Confederates occupy the town of Aquia Creek, Virginia.

March 20th, 1862

General Jackson's forces advance to Strasburg, Virginia forcing Federal forces to pull back.

March 22nd, 1862

Kernstown, Virginia sees light fighting between Jackson's advancing troops and General Shields' Union soldiers.

March 23rd, 1862

The Battle of Kernstown is best understood as the beginning of the Shenandoah Valley campaign. Some 9,000 Union soldiers clash with 4,200 Confederates. Jackson's men battle valiantly, but are forced to retreat after suffering 80 killed, 375 wounded, 263 missing. The North suffers 118 killed, 450 injured and 22 missing.

March 24th, 1862

Lincoln writes to newspaperman Horace Greely on the issue of emancipation compensation and notes that "we should urge it persuasively, and not menacingly on the South."

March 26th, 1862

State militia in Missouri clash with Confederate forces at Hammondsville.

March 28th, 1862

Brief fighting occurs in Virginia on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. This takes place over a period of several days.

March 29th, 1862

Union cavalry troops charge fleeing Confederates in Middlebury, Virginia.