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Occupation of Specific Places in the Civil War 1862
January 10, 1862 - Occupation of Romney, West Virginia by Confederate Troops
On January 10, 1862 the Federals under Lander evacuated Romney and Confederate cavalry under the command of Captains George F. Sheetz and E. H. Shans occupied the city; Brig. Gen. William W. Loring was placed in command and General Jackson returned to Winchester. This set the stage for Stonewall Jackson's famous resignation.
February 10, 1862 - Occupation of Elizabeth City, North Carolina by Federal Troops
As the Union fleet entered Elizabeth City's harbor, panic seized most of its 900 inhabitants. The Rev. E. M. Forbes, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, clad in his vestments, was accompanied to the waterfront by John C. Ehringhaus, a prominent local merchant, where the town was declared an ''open city'' to the Union invaders who promised to spare it.
Meanwhile, Col. Lucien D. Starke and several other citizens were so determined in their efforts to resist Union occupation that they were prepared to burn the town and at their request a Confederate colonel there had detailed some of his men to assist in the operation.
Torches were made and several homes and buildings set fire before they could be caught and arrested. Among the buildings totally destroyed was the Pasquotank County courthouse. Sheriff George D. Pool removed most of the county's most valuable records in an ox-cart but the building itself was a total loss.
February 14-15, 1862 - Occupation of Bowling Green, Kentucky by Federal Troops
On February 14, the Confederate forces at Bowling Green were ordered to evacuate the town. After the last Confederate left, the Union force, commanded by Brig. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel, entered Bowling Green. The occupation troops continued to flow in until the following day.
February 25, 1862 - Occupation of Nashville, Tennessee by Federal Troops
Union troops moved into Nashville, Tennessee in full force on February 25th. Nashville became a vital base for the Union, to be held throughout the remainder of the war. Its capture without bloodshed had been made possible by Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's victory at Fort Donelson, although it was formally occupied by troops of Brig. Gen. Don C. Buell.
The city emptied out right after the fall of Fort Donelson. The retreating Confederate troops came through the city, telling all the townspeople that the Union forces were going to be coming through. The residents grabbed all they could, and followed the Confederate troops out of the city. Following the evacuation of the city, Grant occupied Nashville.
March 8, 1862 - Occupation of Chattanooga, Tennessee by Confederate Troops
On March 8, a Confederate force, commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, enters Chattanooga
March 12, 1862 - Occupation of Jacksonville, Florida by Federal Troops
On March 12, the USS Ottowa, commanded by Lt. T.H. Stevens, arrived just offshore from Jacksonville. The Ottowa sent a landing party ashore and occupied the city.
April 13, 1862 - Occupation of Decatur, Alabama by Federal Troops
On April 13, the Union forces, commanded by Brig. Gen. Ormsby Mitchel, entered the town of Decatur and occupied it. Decatur is located on the Tennessee River.
April 28, 1862 - Occupation of New Orleans by Federal Troops
Following the passage of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, Farragut, with his squadron, continued up the Mississippi River and headed towards New Orleans. There a fearful panic prevailed, for the people had heard of the disasters below. Drums were beating, soldiers were hurrying to and fro, cotton was carried to the levee to be burned; funds in the amount of $4,000,000 had been carried away from the banks, and citizens, with millions in property, had fled from the city. Maj. Gen. Mansfield Lovell and his troops fled: the torch was applied to the cotton on the levee, and 15,000 bales, a dozen large ships, and as many fine steamers, with unfinished gunboats and other large vessels, were destroyed in the conflagration. Farragut demanded the surrender of the City of New Orleans the next day. The city surrendered on April 28. After Farragut arrived, the citizens were held in durance by Farragut's guns until the arrival of Butler on May 1. Butler's army began landing at New Orleans and occupying the city. Butler made his headquarters at the St. Charles Hotel. New Orleans, considered an international city and the largest city in the Confederacy, had fallen.
The loss of New Orleans was a terrible blow to the Confederacy. The Union occupation of New Orleans was an event that had major international significance.
May 9, 1862 - Occupation of Pensacola, Florida by Federal Troops
On May 9, the Confederate forces are ordered to evacuate Pensacola. As soon as the last man left, the Union forces, commanded by Brig. Gen. Lewis G. Arnold, entered the city and officially occupied the city.
May 12, 1862 - Occupation of Natchez, Mississippi by Federal Troops
On May 12, a Union force entered the city of Natchez. The Union commander, Cmdr. James S. Palmer, requested the surrender of the city. The mayor, John Hunter, sadly obliged with Palmer and formally surrendered the city of 6,612 residents. They were now under Union occupation.
June 3-4, 1862 - Occupation of Fort Pillow by Federal Troops
On June 3, Capt. Charles H. Davis, commander of the Mississippi River River Squadron, led a Union naval flotilla downriver to Fort Pillow. Fort Pillow was located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River some 35 miles north of Memphis. Davis ordered his ships and mortar boats to open fire on the fort. The Confederate gunners in the fort, commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Villepigue, readied for evacuation of the fort. The Confederates planned on leaving Fort Pillow and heading to Grenada, Mississippi.
As the evacuation of the fort was underway, many of the Confederate gunners started to desert.
On June 4, by the end of the night, Fort Pillow was completely empty. Villepique had his men haul off everything of importance that they were able to carry.
On June 5, in the morning, Lt. Col. Alfred W. Ellet went ashore carrying a flag of truce. When he reached the top of the bluffs at the fort, he found that the Confederates had completely abandoned it.
June 9-10, 1862 - Occupation of Pensacola, Florida by Federal Troops
On June 9, with the impending Union force coming to the Pensacola area, the Confederate forces stationed here began preparing to evacuate their position at Pensacola and the immediate area. They burned and destroyed material in the Pensacola Navy Yard, Fort Barrancas and Fort McRee, 2 Confederate steamboats, and an ironclad building on the Escambia River.
On June 10, the Union force entered the Pensacola area and saw all of the destruction that the retreating Confederates had done. The Federals salvaged all that they could of the still-smoking ruins.
June 18, 1862 - Occupation of the Cumberland Gap in Tennessee by Federal Troops
On June 18, a Union force, commanded by Brig. Gen. George W. Morgan, entered and occupied Cumberland Gap. The gap was an important trail through the rugged mountains where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia join. The Confederates in the area withdrew because of the Union threats. Before they left though, all of the stores were destroyed.
October 5, 1862 - Occupation of Galveston, Texas by Federal Troops
On October 5, the nearby Union naval fleet arrived at Galveston and sent its landing parties ashore. Without any resistance, the Union force captured the city.
October 27, 1862 - Occupation of Halltown, Virginia by Federal Troops
On October 27, Union forces entered and occupied the town of Halltown, as Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan advanced into Virginia.
