| Science/Technology |
|
John Ericsson's new ironclad is commissioned as the U.S.S. Monitor |
| Religion/Philosophy |
|
Ash Wednesday begins the Christian observance of Lent for 1862 |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
In Annapolis, the Maryland Legislature elects Reverdy Johnson as United States Senator |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
President Lincoln suggests to Congress ways gradually to end slavery in the United States |
| Battles/Soldiers |
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|
In northwest Arkansas, Union forces win a fierce three-day battle at Pea Ridge, around Elkhorn Tavern |
| Personal |
|
Famous Texas Ranger Ben McCulloch killed instantly by rifle fire at the Battle of Pea Ridge |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
The towering castle at Segovia in Spain heavily damaged in a massive fire |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Off Norfolk, Virginia, the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia leads an attack that cripples the Union blockading fleet |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
War souvenir kills two young men in a Camden, New Jersey hotel |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Steamship packed with food bound for the northern English port of Liverpool sinks in a storm in mid-Atlantic |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In Hampton Roads, the Virginia and the Monitor pound each other in the first ever battle between ironclads |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
The Confederate invasion of New Mexico reaches and occupies the territorial capital of Santa Fe |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
Fire destroys Euphemia Hall, a female Episcopal school founded and run by a Dickinson College graduate |
| US/the World |
|
Britain and France declare by treaty that Zanzibar in East Africa is separate and independent from Oman |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Union troops reoccupy Manassas Junction, Virginia, eight months after the defeat at Bull Run |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
The public sees for the first time the series of orders by which President Lincoln took full command of the war |
| Battles/Soldiers |
-
|
Confederates evacuate St. Augustine, Florida and U.S. naval units land peacefully the next day |
| Personal |
|
Janet Delano, pioneer nursing administrator, is born near Montour Falls, New York |
| Education/Culture |
|
George Peabody donates $750,000 to his adopted home city of London for charitable use |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The Governor of New York reacts to the emergence of naval ironclad warfare in Virginia |
| US/the World |
|
In British India, Lord Elgin arrives in Calcutta to take up his duties as Viceroy |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton appoints a special commission to investigate fraud in Army contracts |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
A new Article of War forbids the military to return escaped slaves to their former owners |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In North Carolina, Union land and sea units advance up the Neuse River to attack New Bern |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Senator Lazarus Powell survives a U.S. Senate vote to expel him for "seducing citizens into rebellion and treason" |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Confederate troops hastily evacuate New Madrid, Missouri in the face of a powerful Union advance |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
In North Carolina, combined Union land and naval force win the battle of New Bern |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Massachusetts votes to build its own ironclads to defend its coast against the Confederate Navy |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Union naval units bombard remaining Confederate installations along Aquia Creek in northern Virginia |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Dutchess County, New York, a troop train derailment kills five men of the 94th New York Volunteers |
