Timeline

1862

Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

Sep

17

Civil War

Battle of Antietam breaks out

Beginning early on the morning of September 17, 1862, Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash near Maryland’s Antietam Creek in the bloodiest single day in American military history.

Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam, also called Battle of Sharpsburg, was the decisive battle of the Confederate Maryland Campaign during the American Civil War. It took place on 17 September 1862 along the Antietam River in Maryland, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from an original of the period. (Photo by: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Bildagentur-online/Universal Ima

Sep

22

U.S. Presidents

Lincoln issues preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

US Cabinet members, gathered to hear Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Washington DC, September 22nd 1862. President Abraham Lincoln, Solomon P Chase, William H Seward, Montgomery Blair, Gideon Welles, Edwin M Stanton, Caleb B Smith and Edward Bates. Lithograph by E. Herline, Philadelphia (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Getty Images

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