On This Day

What Happened in April 1862

Historical Events

  • Apr 1 Shenandoah Valley campaign, Jackson's Battle of Woodstock, VA
  • Apr 4 Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia begins (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
  • Apr 4 Peninsular Campaign, launched in southeastern Virginia, aimed at capturing Richmond during US Civil War begins, Confederate victory (US Civil War)
  • Apr 5 Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia ends (Yorktown campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War)
  • Apr 6 Battle of Shiloh, Union defeats Confederacy near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee
  • Apr 7 Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tenn, Island #10 falls
  • Apr 8 John D Lynde patents aerosol dispenser
  • Apr 11 Confederates surrender at Fort Pulaski, Georgia
  • Apr 12 James Andrews steals Confederate train (General) at Kennesaw, Georgia
  • Apr 12 Union troops occupy Fort Pulaski, Georgia
  • Apr 14 Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Apr 15 American poet Emily Dickinson first corresponds with author and future literary mentor Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a relationship that lasts the rest of her life

Poet Emily Dickinson
Poet
Emily Dickinson
  • Apr 16 Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
  • Apr 16 American Confederate Congress approves conscription act for all white males (18-35 years)
  • Apr 18 Battle of Fort Jackson, Fort St Philip & New Orlean's, Louisiana

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Apr 20 First pasteurization test completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard

Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur
Bacteriologist
Louis Pasteur
  • Apr 21 Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorodo
  • Apr 21 Ellen Price Wood's "East Lynne" premieres in Boston

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Apr 25 Capture of New Orleans LA by the Union under Flag Officer Farragut

US Civil War Admiral David Farragut
US Civil War Admiral
David Farragut
  • Apr 29 100,000 federal troops prepare to march into Corinth, Mississippi
  • Apr 29 New Orleans falls to Union forces during US Civil War
  • Apr 30 Swift Run Gap skirmishes in West Virginia

Famous Birthdays

  • Apr 2 Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat (Nobel Peace Prize 1931), educator (Columbia University President), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (d. 1947)
  • Apr 5 Louis Ganne, French composer, born in Buxières-les-Mines (d. 1923)
  • Apr 11 Charles Evans Hughes, American statesman, Republican politician and 11th Chief Justice of Supreme Court (1930-41), born in Glens Falls, New York (d. 1948)
  • Apr 11 William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and Director of Lick Observatory, born in Hancock County, Ohio (d. 1938)
  • Apr 14 Pyotr Stolypin, 3rd Prime Minister of Russia (1906-11), born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, German Confederation (d. 1911)
  • Apr 25 Edward Grey, English viscount of Fallodon and Minister of Foreign Affairs, born in London (d. 1933)
  • Apr 29 Vittorio Mario Vanzo, Italian composer, born in Padua, Italy (d. 1945)
  • Apr 30 Jack Sheridan, American Baseball Hall of Fame umpire (World Series 1905, 07-08, 10), born in Decatur, Illinois (d. 1914)

Famous Weddings


LoveWedding of Interest

Apr 27 Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Chemist and Inventor Dmitri Mendeleev
Chemist and Inventor
Dmitri Mendeleev

Famous Deaths

  • Apr 3 James Clark Ross, British Royal Navy explorer (British Antarctic), dies at 61
  • Apr 4 Harmen S Sytstra, Dutch poet/editor (Iduna), dies at 45
  • Apr 6 Adley H. Gladden, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in battle at 51
  • Apr 6 Albert Sidney Johnston, US Confederate general, dies in battle at 59
  • Apr 7 Sydney Nelson, composer, dies at 62
  • Apr 9 George W Johnson, US planter/Confederate (gov-Ky), dies at about 50
  • Apr 10 William Harvey Lamb Wallace, American lawyer and Brigadier General, dies at 40
  • Apr 19 Louis Powell Harvey, US governor of Wisconsin, drowns
  • Apr 19 Simon Fraser, Canadian explorer, dies
  • Apr 25 Charles Ferguson Smith, US Union Gen-Maj, dies of infection at 55


What Happened in 1862