Year by year · 19th century

1862

1862 in world history: 11 events, 16 births, 13 deaths, 5 states founded and 2 that came to an end. 1,042 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 9 March

    Monitor and Virginia fight the first battle between ironclads

    At Hampton Roads, Virginia, USS Monitor and the Confederate CSS Virginia fought for hours without decisive damage. The duel showed that wooden warships were obsolete.

    Virginia

  2. 5 May

    Mexican army defeats the French at Puebla

    General Ignacio Zaragoza's outnumbered troops repulsed a French assault on Puebla. The victory, marked as Cinco de Mayo, delayed but did not prevent the French occupation of Mexico.

    ZaragozaMexico

  3. 5 May · Battle

    Battle of Puebla

    The Battle of Puebla was fought on 5 May 1862 during the French intervention in Mexico, when Mexican troops under General Ignacio Zaragoza repulsed a French assault on the forts above Puebla.

  4. 1 July

    Union guns repel Lee's assaults at Malvern Hill

    Massed Union artillery shattered Confederate attacks at Malvern Hill near Richmond, the last of the Seven Days Battles. Though McClellan withdrew afterwards, Lee's costly assaults ended the campaign.

  5. 12 July

    Lincoln signs the act creating the Army Medal of Honor

    President Lincoln signed a resolution authorising the Medal of Honor for army soldiers who distinguished themselves by gallantry. It remains the highest US military decoration.

  6. 17 September

    The Battle of Antietam, America's bloodiest single day

    Union and Confederate armies suffered about 23,000 casualties along Antietam Creek in Maryland. Lee's retreat gave Lincoln the victory he needed to announce the Emancipation Proclamation.

  7. 22 September

    Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

    Lincoln announced that enslaved people in states still in rebellion on 1 January 1863 would be declared free. The war for the Union became also a war against slavery.

  8. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Saigon (1862)

    The Treaty of Saigon, signed on 5 June 1862, ended the first phase of the French conquest of southern Vietnam.

ProfileState888 states with a known seat in 1862Open the atlas at 1862 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1862 16

Died in 1862 13

States founded 5

States that came to an end 2

Great speeches

Bismarck: Iron and BloodOtto von Bismarck

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1862. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1862
MLA
“1862.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1862. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1862.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1862.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1862’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1862 (Accessed: ).