WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO AUGUST 1862
Find out what all happened May to August 1862

American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic; his tactics during the campaign are now studied by militaries around the world. (9. June 1862)

American Civil War: Major General J.E.B. Stuart is assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. (17. August 1862)

American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys – Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan. (8. June 1862)

American Indian Wars: during an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way. (19. August 1862)

The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress. (12. July 1862)

A 3000-strong riot occurred at Wardsend Cemetery in the Sheffield, England, against rumours of bodysnatching from the grounds. (3. June 1862)

American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas. (28. August 1862)

American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia. (11. May 1862)

First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps. (18. July 1862)

Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels. (4. July 1862)

American Civil War: Battle of Memphis – Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee, from the Confederates. (6. June 1862)

American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army. (23. July 1862)

President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture. (15. May 1862)

As the Treaty of Saigon is signed, ceding parts of southern Vietnam to France, the guerrilla leader Trương Định decides to defy Emperor Tự Đức of Vietnam and fight on against the Europeans. (5. June 1862)

The United States and the United Kingdom agreed to suppress the slave trade. (7. June 1862)

The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first man with dark skin to command a United States ship. (13. May 1862)

American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) – Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia. (31. May 1862)

American Civil War – Battle of Richmond: Confederates under Edmund Kirby Smith rout Union forces under General Horatio Wright. (30. August 1862)

American Civil War: the Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (6. August 1862)

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law. (20. May 1862)