1862
Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
Decades: 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s - 1860s - 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
Years: 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 - 1862 - 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867
Events
- January 30 - The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
- February 1 - Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published for the first time (Atlantic Monthly).
- February 6 - American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant gives the United States its first victory of the war, by capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee
- February 15 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee and captures it the next day.
- March 8 - American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) is launched at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
- March 9 - American Civil War: First battle between two ironclad warships USS Monitor v CSS Virginia
- August 28 through August 30 - Battle of Second Manassas
- September 17 - Union forces defeat Confederate troops at the battle of Antietam, in the bloodiest day in the American Civil War (with over 20,000 casualties).
- December 30 - The USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
- December 31 - American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union (thus dividing Virginia in two).
- Mexican army defeats the French army in the Battle of Puebla.
- Otto von Bismarck becomes prime minister of Prussia
- Richard Jordan Gatling patents the Gatling gun.
Births
- January 24 - Edith Wharton, writer
- January 29 - Frederick Delius, composer (+ 1934)
- August 22 - Claude Debussy, French composer
- December 8 - Georges Feydeau, French playwright
Deaths
- January 10 - Samuel Colt, inventor
- January 18 - John Tyler, former President of the United States, member of the Congress of the Confederate States of America
- July 24 - Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States
Legislation