Date:
 Events:
Nov. 6, 1860 Abraham Lincoln wins election as 16th President of the United States.

[1, pp. 109--111; 2, p. 15; 5, pp. 1--30; 6, p. 2; 7, p. 15, 21; 9, pp. 312--317; 13, pp. 442--47.]

An estimated 81.2% of eligible voters cast ballots in this election.

[5, p. 30; 7, p. 21.]
President-elect Abraham Lincoln
Nov. 7, 1860

In response to Lincoln's election, the three principal Federal officials in  Charleston, Judge  A.G. McGrath, Federal District Attorney James Conner, and Port Collector W.F. Colcock, all resign their positions.


[5, p. 25; 9, p. 318.]
Nov. 8, 1860

Col. John L. Gardner, commanding United States forces in Charleston Harbor, orders Capt. Truman Seymour, of his command, to transfer arms from the Charleston arsenal to Fort Moultire. The shipment is blocked by Charleston civilians.


[1, pp. 141--42; 2, pp. 57--58; 4, pp.  30--31; 5, p. 99; 7, pp. 15--17; 9, p. 349.]

Major P.G.T. Beauregard (of Louisiana) is appointed Superintendant of West Point.  He assumes the post in January, but is almost immediately relieved of the position when Louisiana secedes on January 26, 1861.

[1, p. 252; 5, pp. 234--35; 7, p. 175; 15, pp. 45--46.]












Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard

Nov. 10, 1860 The South Caroline Legislature calls for the election of a state convention; the voting for delegates to be on Dec. 6, and the convention to open on Dec. 17.

[1, p. 131; 4, p. 33; 5, p. 91; 9, p. 320; 14, p. 45.]
Nov. 11, 1860 Capt. Fitz-John Porter, having been sent to inspect and report upon the situation in Charleston Harbor, recommends that the garrison be increased, but with delicacy and discretion.   

[1, pp. 142--43, 12, pp. 70--72.]    

Nov. 14, 1860 Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens, an old friend of President-elect Lincoln's, gives a speech to the Georgia Legislature urging caution on secession.

[14, p. 144; the full text of the speech is here.]

Alexander Stephens of Georgia
Nov. 15, 1860

Maj. Robert Anderson is ordered to assume command of the United States forces in Charleston Harbor, replacing Col. Gardner.


[1, p. 143; 5, p. 99; 6, p. 5; 7, pp. 62--65; 12, p. 73; 13, p. 518; full document is given here.]

Maj. Robert Anderson 

Nov. 16, 1860 Gov. Letcher of Virginia calls the legistature into session on Jan. 7, 1861, partly in response to Lincoln's election.

[9, p. 411; New York Times archive; full text of Letcher's proclamation is here; 14, p. 306.]

The Augusta (Georgia) Daily Constitutionaist publishes an editorial in favor of secession, but urging a cautious approach.


[Full text of the editorial may be found here.)

Virginia Governor John Letcher
Nov. 21, 1860 Maj. Anderson arrives in Charleston.

[4, p. 41; 5, p. 107.]
Nov. 23, 1860 Anderson requests reinforcements from the War Department.

 [1, p. 144; 5, p. 108; 12, pp. 74--76; 13, p. 538.]

Nov. 30, 1860 President-elect Lincoln writes to his old friend, Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens, asking for a copy of the speech Stephens made to the Georgia legislature on Nov. 14.

[14, p. 144;  Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 4, p. 146; full document is here.]
Dec. 1, 1860

Anderson reports on threatening conditions at Fort Moultrie.


[12, pp. 81--82; full text of the message is here.]
Dec. 4, 1860 President Buchanan's Fourth Annual Message read to Congress.

[1, pp. 128--29; 2, p. 252; 5, pp. 124--27; 8, p. 246; 7, pp. 61--62; 9, pp. 352--54; 11, p. 19; 14, p. 88; the portion of the message touching on secession may be found here.]

President James Buchanan
Dec. 8, 1860 Howell Cobb, the pro-secession Secretary of the Treasury from Georgia, resigns his position.

[1, p. 159; 5, p. 130; 9, p. 359; 13, p. 535.]

President Buchanan meets with some members of the South Carolina Congressional delegation, who give him a letter the next day.

[1, p. 146; 5, pp. 132--34; 7, p. 85; 9, p. 357; 12, p. 116; full text of the letter may be found here.]

President-elect Lincoln secretly offers the position of Secretary of State to William Seward, his chief rival for the Republican nomination.  (For reasons that speak to the nature of mid-19th Century politics, the offer was not conveyed to Seward by the intermediaries tasked to do so until the 13th.)

[5, p. 185; 7, p. 89; 14, pp. 161--63.]

Howell Cobb







Senator William H. Seward of New York

Dec. 10, 1860

North Carolina moderate Congressman John Gilmer, occasionally mentioned as a possible choice for Lincoln's Cabinet, writes a letter to the President-elect, posing six very specific questions as to Lincoln's policies, and asking Lincoln to issue some kind of statement "to give the people of the United States the views and opinions you now entertain on certain political questions which now so seriously distract the country."


Lincoln replies, confidentially, on the 15th (see below).

[1, pp. 167--68; 14, pp. 143--44; the text of Gilmer's letter can be found here;  Lincoln's response (see below) is here.]

Lincoln writes to U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull regarding compromise on the issue of slavery in the territories.  [Roy P. Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, pp. 149--150; full text of the letter may be found here.]



Congressman John A. Gilmer of North Carolina
Dec. 11, 1860 Maj. Don Carlos Buell arrives in Charleston with verbal orders for Anderson. Buell makes a written memorandum of the verbal orders.

[1, pp. 147--48; 4, pp. 50--52; 5, pp. 148--49, 152;  6, p. 10; 7, pp. 106--07; 12, pp. 89--90; 13, p. 539; a copy of the Memorandum may be found here.]

The South Carolina Legislature elects Francis Pickens as Governor of the state.

[1, p. 131; 2, pp. 79; 5, p. 142--47.]

Similar to his letter of the previous day, Lincoln writes to Illinois Congressman William Kellogg regarding compromise on the issue of slavery in the territories.  [Roy P. Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 150; full text of the letter may be found here.]
Maj. Don Carlos Buell

Gov. Francis Pickens

Dec. 12, 1860

Secretary of State Lewis Cass resigns his post because President Buchanan had refused to reinforce the forts in Charleston Harbor.


[1, p. 159; 2, p. 44; 5, p. 134; 6, p. 10; 7, p. 86; 9, p. 358; 11, p. 26; 13, p. 518; 15, p. 536 (different date); full text of his resignation letter is here.]

Lewis Cass
Dec. 14, 1860 A group of 30 Southern Senators and Representatives issue a "manifesto" in favor of secession and the creation of a Southern Confederacy.

[5, p. 134; 11, pp. 26--27; the full document may be found here.]


Stephens responds to Lincoln's Nov. 30 request for his speech to the Georgia legislature, saying that he had not revised the speech, and so the newspaper accounts were essentially accurate.

[14, p. 144; Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 4, p. 146.]













Alexander Stephens of Georgia

Dec. 15, 1860

President-elect Lincoln responds, confidentially, to Congressman Gilmer's letter of the 10th (see above).


[1, pp. 167--68;  14, pp. 143--44; the full text of Lincoln's reply may be found here.]

Congressman John A. Gilmer of North Carolina
Dec. 17, 1860 Governor Pickens requests permission of President Buchanan to send a garrison of no more than 25 men to Fort Sumter. 
 
[1, p. 151; 2, pp. 81--83; 5, p. 144; 9, pp. 365--66.]


Attorney General Jeremiah Black is appointed Secretary of State by President Buchanan.

[1, p. 159; 6, p. 11; 7, p. 86; 9, p. 358; 11, p. 26; 13, p. 518.]

South Carolina Secession convention opens in a Baptist church in Columbia; a resolution affirming that the convention should pass an ordinance of secession is approved, but a smallpox outbreak in the city forces the Convention to adjourn to Charleston.

[1, pp. 131--32; 4, p. 55; 5, p. 144; 6, p. 11; 11, p. 5.]

Lt. J.G. Foster, of the Federal garrison, draws 40 muskets from the Federal arsenal in Charleston.


[1, p. 150; 2, pp. 76--77; 4, p. 36; 5, p.  153; 9, p. 366.]
Secretary of State Jeremiah Black






Lt. John G. Foster

Dec. 19, 1860

Foster is ordered by the Secretary of War, John Floyd, to return the muskets, which he does.


[1, pp. 133, 150; 2, pp. 77--78; 4, p. 36; 9, p. 366.]
Secretary of War John B. Floyd
Dec. 20, 1860

South Carolina convention passes an ordinance of secession, by a vote of 169--0.

[1, p. 133; 2, pp. 88; 4, p. 55; 5, pp. 139, 145; 6, p. 12; 7, p. 105; 8, p. 235; 9, p. 359; 11, pp. 7, 27.]

President Buchanan learns of South Carolina's secession at a wedding reception, when Congressman Lawrence Keitt of South Carolina bursts in screaming, "Thank God!  Oh, Thank God!"

[5, p. 139; 6, p. 12.]

Secretary of War Floyd orders 125 heavy cannon to be shipped from Pittsburgh to incomplete fortifications in the Deep South (one at Galveston, Texas, a second on Ship Island in Mississippi Sound).

[1, p. 175; 7, p. 109; 8, p. 226; 9, p. 375.]


Dec. 21, 1860

President-elect Lincoln writes to Lt. General Scott through Congressman Elihu Washburne (concerning the coastal forts seized by the seceding states), saying, "Please present my respects to the General, and tell him, confidentially, I shall be obliged to him to be as well prepared as he can to either hold, or retake, the forts, as the case may require, at, and after the inaugeration."


[1, p. 170; 3, p. 17; 7, p. 88; 8, p. 249--50; full document is here.]

The South Carolina Convention selects James Orr, Robert Barnwell, and  James Adams as  "commissioners" to the United States government.


[1, p. 157; 5, p. 147.]

Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
Dec. 22, 1860

President-elect Lincoln writes a friendly letter to Georgia Congressman (soon to be Confederate Vice President) Alexander Stephens, who replies later in the month.  (The two men had shared a boarding house during Lincoln's one term in Congress.)


[1, pp. 113-14; 14, pp. 143--145; the full text of Lincoln's letter is here.]

Dec. 23, 1860 Rumors of the financial scandal involving Secretary of War Floyd begin to emerge.

[1, pp. 172--73; 5, pp. 149--51; 9, pp. 372--374; 11, pp. 31--32.]

Dec. 24, 1860

The South Carolina commissioners depart for Washington.


[5, pp. 154, 162.]

Dec. 25, 1860 Buchanan learns of Floyd's efforts to ship cannon to southern forts, and countermands the orders.

[5, p. 169; 8, p. 226; 9, p. 375.]

President James Buchanan
Dec. 26, 1860

Maj. Anderson moves his command from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter.  He is able to take with him "about four months' supply of provisions for [his] command."

[1, pp. 154--57; 4, pp. 59--67; 5, pp. 154--57; 6, pp. 15--16; 7, p. 107; 8, p. 265; 9, p. 367; 11, pp. 28--29; 12, p. 2; 13, p. 540; 14, pp. 45, 253.]

Robert Barnwell Rhett proposes that representatives of the slave states should meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a new government.  This passes the South Carolina Secession Convention on the 31st.

[5, p. 240.]


Assistant Secretary of State William Henry Trescot (of South Carolina) arranges lodgings for the Commissioners from South Carolina.  Buchanan agrees to meet the "private gentlemen" the following afternoon.

[5, p. 169.]
Maj. Robert Anderson 
Dec. 27, 1860 Gov. Pickens demands that Anderson return to Fort Moultrie; Anderson refuses. South Carolina troops occupy Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney.

[4, pp. 70--74, 79--80; 5, pp. 164--65; 7, p. 107; 9, pp. 368, 383.]

Dec. 28, 1860 Gen. Winfield Scott writes to Secretary of War Floyd, advocating the sending of reinforcements to Fort Sumter.

[1, pp. 161--62; 12, p. 112; full document is here.]

The South Carolina Commissioners meet with Buchanan and demand that Maj. Anderson return to Fort Moultrie.

[5, p. 172; 7, pp. 112--13; 11, p. 30; 12, pp. 109--11; 13, p. 541; 14, pp. 254, 268; the document that the commissioners presented to President Buchanan may be found here.]

Senator William H. Seward of New York, confidentially accepts President-elect Lincoln's appointment as Secretary of State.

[2, p. 317; 14, p. 254.]

Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott










Senator William H. Seward of New York

Dec. 29, 1860 Floyd resigns as Secretary of War.

[1, pp. 172--73; 2, p. 149; 5, pp. 172--73; 6, pp. 16; 9, p. 375; 11, p. 32; 13, p. 542.]

Secretary of War John B. Floyd
Dec. 30, 1860 South Carolina seizes the Charleston Arsenal.

Gen. Scott again writes to Buchanan, urging the reinforcement of Fort Sumter.

[1, pp. 164--65; 5, p. 174; 6, p. 17; 9, p. 377; 12, p. 114, full text is here.]

Alexander Stephens replies to President-elect Lincoln's letter of the 22nd.

[1, pp. 113-14; 14, pp. 143--45; the full text of Stephens's letter is here.]


Dec. 31, 1860 Postmaster-General Joseph Holt named Secretary of War, replacing Floyd.

[1, p. 174; 2, p. 150; 5, pp. 176; 7, p. 113; 9, p. 382; 11, p. 33; 13, p. 543]


President Buchanan replies to the demands of the South Carolina commissioners; he refuses to order Maj. Anderson back to Fort Moultrie, and instead issues orders (later) to send reinforcements and provisions to him at Fort Sumter.

[1, p. 174; 2, pp. 156--58; 5, pp. 175--77; 6, pp. 17--18; 7, p. 113; 9, pp. 376--79; 11, p. 33; 13, p. 542; 14, p. 254; the full text of Buchanan's document may be found here.]


Secretary of War Joseph Holt
Jan. 2, 1861

South Carolina seizes Fort Johnson, in Charleston Harbor.


 [2, p. 123; 5, p. 165; 6, p. 21.]

The South Carolina commissioners present their reply to Buchanan's note of the 31st.  Buchanan finds it "of such a character that he declines to receive it."  The commissioners leave Washington before that reply reaches their hotel.


[1, p. 174; 5, p. 191; 12, pp. 120--25; full document is here.]
Jan. 5, 1861 The Star of the West sails from New York with 250 recruits and supplies for Fort Sumter on board.

[1, pp. 177--181; 2, p. 176; 5, pp. 191--92; 6, p. 22; 7, pp. 119--20; 8, p. 266; 9, pp. 379--80; 11, p. 33; 12, p. 128; 13, p. 542.]
Star of the West
Jan. 7, 1861 The House of Representatives passes a resolution supporting Maj. Anderson's shift from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter.  The resolution was offered by Congressman Garnett Adrain of New Jersey, a Democrat, and the text is here.  The vote was 124 in favor, 56 opposed.

[6, p. 22; Congressional Globe, 36th Congress, 2nd Session, Part 1, pp. 280--82; a PDF of the relevant pages is here.]

Virginia's Gov. John Letcher addresses his state legislature, proposing a national convention (which would become the Washington Peace Convention) but also opposing any Federal efforts to coerce the seceding states into returning to the Union.  In response, the legislature endorsed his plea for a national convention, proposing a date of Feb. 4; it also called for elections to a state convention to consider secession, to meet on Feb. 13; finally, the legislature adopted the following resolution:

"That if all efforts to reconcile the unhappy differences existing between the two sections of the country shall prove to be abortive, then, in the opinion of the General Assembly, every consideration of honor and interest demands that Virginia shall unite her destiny with the slave-holding States of the South."

[1, p. 196; relevant partial text of Letcher's message is here, and the full legislative resolution is here; Official Records of the War of the Rebellion,  Ser. IV, vol. 1, p. 77.]

Congressman Garnett Adrain, of New Jersey


Virginia Governor John Letcher

Jan. 8, 1861 Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson, the last Southerner in Buchanan's Cabinet, resigns, but not before he telegraphs South Carolina officials about the mission of the Star of the West.  (Senator Wigfall, of Texas, also sent a warning telegram.)

[1, pp. 179; 2, pp. 179--181; 5, p. 208; 6, p. 23; 11, p. 33; 12, p. 253; 13, pp. 542--43.]
Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson
Jan. 9, 1861

The Star of the West, flying a United States flag, is fired upon as it enters Charleston Harbor, and is driven off.  Anderson and Pickens exchange angry letters over the incident.  Anderson then proposes that Lt. Theodore Talbot should be sent to Washington to seek further instructions from the Goverment.  Pickens agrees, and Talbot catches a train north.


[1, pp. 180--82; 2, pp. 183--186; 4, pp. 102--06; 5, pp. 195--201; 6, p. 23; 7, pp. 119--20; 8, p. 266; 9, p. 380; 11, p. 34; 12, pp. 134--36, full text of the complete correspondence is here; 13, pp. 542--43.]

Star of the West
Jan. 10, 1861

Florida secedes.

[1, pp. 184, 187; 5, p. 203; 6, p. 24; 9, p. 417.]

Lt. Adam Slemmer, fearing attack by local militia, transfers his garrison of 51 soldiers and 30 sailors from Fort Barancas (on the Florida mainland) to Fort Pickens (on Santa Rosa Island), across Pensacola Bay.


[1, p. 274; 3, p. 47; 5, pp. 205--06; 6, p. 24; 11, p. 38; 12, p. 334.]

Holt writes to Anderson, mostly to "to express the great satisfaction of the Government at the forbearance, discretion, and firmness with which you have acted, amid the perplexing and difficult circumstances in which you have been placed to express the great satisfaction of the Government at the forbearance, discretion, and firmness with which you have acted, amid the perplexing and difficult circumstances in which you have been placed."


[5, p. 208; 12, p. 136--37, full document is here.]

Lt. Adam Slemmer












Jan. 11, 1861

Gov. Pickens orders hulks sunk in the ship channels to make it more difficult for vessels to enter the harbor.  He then sends two emissaries to Fort Sumter to demand its surrender, which is refused by Anderson.  After some discussion between Anderson and the emissaries, Maj. Anderson proposes that both sides send "messengers" to Washington.


[1, pp. 183--84; 2, pp. 192--194; 5, pp. 201--202;  6, p. 25; 11, pp. 34--35; 12, pp. 137--38; full text of the two letters is here.]

The New York legislature passes resolutions in support of the President.

[1, p. 201; full text of the resolutions is here.]






Jan. 12, 1861 A boat flying a white flag approaches Fort Sumter, carrying Gov. Pickens's affirmative response to Anderson's proposal of the previous day. Attorney-General Isaac W. Hayne, who carries a letter to President Buchanan demanding that Fort Sumter be turned over to the State, is selected to represent South Carolina to the United States, and Lt. Norman Hall of the garrison joins him to communicate with the United States Government.

[1, pp. 186--87; 2, pp. 195--197; 5, p. 202; 6, p. 26; 7, pp. 134--35; 11, p. 35; 13, pp. 543-44.]

Florida state troops occupy Forts Barancas and McRee, and the Pensacola Navy Yard.  They also demand the surrender of Fort Pickens.

[1, p. 274; 5, pp. 206--07; 6, p. 25; 12, pp. 335--39.]

Sen. William H. Seward of New York, Secretary of State-designate in Lincoln's Cabinet, delivers a speech in the Senate in favor of much compromise.

[5, pp. 226--227; 6, p. 26; 7, pp. 121--22; 9, p. 399 (typoed date); 14, pp. 285--87; Congressional Globe, 36th Congress, 2nd Session, Part 1, pp. 341--343.]

The State of Ohio passes legislative resolutions in support of the General Government, but opposed to "meddling" in the internal affairs of other States.

[Full text of Resolutions is here.]

Isaac W. Hayne of South Carolina.


Lt. Norman Hall of the Fort Sumter garrison.






Jan. 13, 1861

Mississippi's Sen. Jefferson Davis writes to Gov. Pickens.  Hayne and Hall reach Washington.


[2, pp. 263--65; 5, pp. 204--05, 208; full text of the letter is here; 6, p. 26.]
Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi
Jan. 14, 1861

Virginia's legislature calls for a secession convention, with the delegates to be elected on Feb. 4th.

[13, p. 505; 14, p. 306.]


Hayne has an "informal" and unofficial" interview with President Buchanan.


[2, pp. 218; 5, p. 208.]
Jan. 15, 1861 Florida again demands the surrender of Fort Pickens, and is again refused.

[5, p. 207; 6, p. 27; 12, pp. 337--38, documents are here.]

Ten Senators from Deep South States intervene with Hayne to temporarily withhold his letter demanding the surrender of Fort Sumter.


[11, pp. 35--37; 13, pp. 543--44;  full text of the letter is here.]


The Arkansas Legislature votes to hold elections (on Feb. 18)  on whether to hold a secession convention, and also for the delegates to the convention.

[Edward McPherson, Political History of the United States During the Great Rebellion, 1864, p. 4; Journal of Both Sessions of the Convention of the State of Arkansas, p. 3; text of legislation is here.]
Jan. 16, 1861

Secretary of State Jeremiah Black writes to Lt. Gen. Scott, inquiring about the possibility of re-inforcing Fort Sumter.


[2, pp. 237--39; 12, pp. 140--42; full text of the letter is here.]

Secretary of War Holt writes to Maj. Anderson, approving his forbearance in not firing upon the South Carolinians when they fired upon the Star of the West; the letter closes with the following: "Whenever, in your judgment, additional supplies or re-enforcements are necessary for your safety, or for a successful defense of the fort, you will at once communicate the fact to this Department, and a prompt and vigorous effort will be made to forward them."


[12, p. 140; full text is here.]

Secretary of State Jeremiah Black


Secretary of War Joseph Holt




Jan. 18, 1861 Lt. Slemmer again refuses to surrender Fort Pickens.

[5, p. 207; 6, p. 27; 12, p. 339, document is here.]
Jan. 19, 1861 Virginia invites states to a convention in Washington, on Feb. 4, to propose compromise measures aimed at solving the crisis. This leads to the so-called Washington Peace Conference.

[1, p. 237; 6, p. 28; 9, p. 411; 13, p. 546.]

South Carolina sends 48 hours worth of food supplies to Fort Sumter; this is the first such shipment of supplies since the garrison moved from Fort Moultrie, but Anderson refuses to accept them.


[2, pp. 201--02; 12, pp. 143--46, full documentation is given in the January 21 entry.]

Jan. 20, 1861

Florida's Senators (Stephen R. Mallory and David L. Yulee) advise Florida Governor M.F. Perry not to attack Fort Pickens, saying,  "[T]he fort is not worth one drop of blood at this time."  This follows similar advice given the two previous days by most of the Southern Senators to Gov. Perry and Alabama Gov. A.D. Moore.


[5, pp. 210--11; 12, p. 445; full documentation is here.]


Jan. 21, 1861

Maj. Anderson writes to the Secretary of War upon the subject of provisions being offered by South Carolina, and his decision to decline them.


[4, pp. 113--14; 12, pp. 143--44; full documentation is here.]


The Virginia legislature passes the following resolution:
Resolved by the General Assembly of Virginia: That if all efforts to reconcile the unhappy differences existing between the two sections of the country shall prove to be abortive, then, in the opinion of the General Assembly, every consideration of honor and interest demands that Virginia shall unite her destiny with the slave-holding States of the South.

[Official Records, Series IV, Vol. 1, p. 77; see also here.]
Five Southern Senators, including future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, announce their resignations from the Senate.
[1, pp. 190--92; 5, p. 228; 6, p. 28; 9, pp. 447--48; many of the "farewell speeches" may be found here.]



Senator Seward introduces a bill to admit Kansas as a free state; the bill passes, 36--16.

 [1, p. 192; 5, p. 228; 9, pp. 448; the relevant pages from the Congressional Globe (PDF format) are here.]
















































Senator William H. Seward of New York

Jan. 22, 1861
President Buchanan informs (through Secretary of War Holt) a group of Senators from now-seceded states, that he intends to hold Fort Sumter.

[2, p. 240; 12, pp. 149--50; full text of the letter is here.]


P.G.T. Beauregard assumes the position of Superintendant of West Point.

[15, p. 45.]


The State of Minnesota passes legislative resolutions in support of the incoming administration, declaring that secession amounts "directly to revolution."

[Full text of Resolutions is here.]

Jan. 24, 1861 Federal reinforcements set sail for Fort Pickens on board the U.S.S. Brooklyn.

[6, p. 29; 12, pp. 352--53, full documentation is here.]

The State of Pennsylvania passes legislative resolutions declaring that secession of a single state "is utterly repugnant," and "That all plots, conspiracies and warlike demonstrations against the United States, in any section of the country, are treasonable in their character, and whatever power of the government is necessary to their suppression, should be applied to that purpose without hesitation or delay."


[Full text of Resolutions is here.]
USS Brooklyn
Jan. 27, 1861

Anderson reports more to Washington regarding the state of his provisions.


[5, p. 247; 12, pp. 153--54; full document is here.]


Jan. 28, 1861 Beauregard relieved as Superintendant at West Point.

 [2, p. 276; 15, p. 46.]
Jan. 29, 1861

Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, an extreme abolitionist Republican from Pennsyvania, delivers a speech on the House floor in opposition to any compromise.  In his view, the Union is perpetual, and worth fighting for.  [Congressional Globe, 36th Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 621--624.]

An informal truce is reached at Fort Pickens:  The state troops will not attack, communications through Pensacola will be kept open, and the reinforcements on the Brooklyn may not be landed (unless the state troops attack, or appear to be getting ready to do so.
[1, p. 275; 2, pp. 401--02; 3, p. 47; 8, p. 266; 9, p. 433; 11, p. 38; 12, pp. 355--56; 13, p. 548; 14, p. 359; full documents are here.]

The State of New Jersey passes legislative resolutions in support of the Crittenden Compromise or other, similar, measures.


[Full text of Resolutions is here.]

Jan. 30, 1861 President-elect Lincoln travels to visit his aging step-mother, Sally, in Farmington, near Charleston, Illinois.  According to some accounts, she predicts that he would be killed in Washington.

[5, p. 257.]

Sally Bush Lincoln
Jan. 31, 1861 Hayne formally demands the surrender of Fort Sumter, in a written letter to President Buchanan.

[1, p. 186; 2, p. 226, full text of the letter is here; 5, p. 230; 7, p. 135; 13, p. 544.]

Isaac W. Hayne of South Carolina.
Feb. 1, 1861 Forty-two women and children are permitted to leave Fort Sumter on a steamer for New York.

[2, pp. 206--207; 4, p. 117; 5, p. 247.]
Feb. 2, 1861

The Legislature of the State of Michigan passes resolutions in opposition to secession.


[1, p. 268; full text of the resolution is here.]
Feb. 4, 1861 Washington Peace Conference opens.

[1, p. 237; 2, p. 256; 4, p. 119; 5, p. 238; 6, p. 32; 7, p. 180; 8, pp. 256--57; 9, p. 445; 11, p. 39; 13, pp. 545--47.]

Virginia elects delegates to a state convention to consider secession.

[1, pp. 196--97; 7, p. 168; 14, p. 306.]


Representatives of six of the seven seceded states  meet in a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a new government. (The Texas delegation has not yet arrived.)

[1, p. 204; 5, pp. 242; 11, pp. 37, 39; 13, p. 545.]




Feb. 5, 1861

Maj. Anderson reports that the engineering works being mounted against his small force are "well devised and well executed, and their works, even in their present condition, will make it impossible for any hostile force, other than a large and well-appointed one, to enter this harbor."


[2, pp. 289--90; 12, p. 163; full document is here.]
Maj. Robert Anderson 

Feb. 6, 1861

Secretary of War Holt informs Hayne that under no circumstances will Fort Sumter be surrendered.


[1, p. 186; 2, pp. 228--231; 5, p. 236; 11, p. 37; 12, pp. 166--168; 13, p. 544; full document is here.]

The U.S.S. Brooklyn arrives at Fort Pickens carrying reinforcements; however, due to the informal truce in effect (see above, Jan. 29), they are not landed.


[2, p. 401; 12, pp. 357--58.]









USS Brooklyn

Feb. 7, 1861 President Buchanan is briefed by Secretary of War Holt on the plan developed by Gustavus Fox to resupply Fort Sumter using small boats at night.

[1, p. 272; 5, p. 283.]

Captain Vogdes informs Washington why he was unable to land his troops into Fort Pickens.

[12, pp. 357--58; documents in full are here.]

Gustavus Fox
Feb. 8, 1861 The provisional Constitution of the Confederate States of America is approved in Montgomery, Alabama. The next day, Jefferson Davis is elected as provisional President, and Alexander Stephens as provisional Vice-President.

 [1, pp. 209--212; 4, p. 120; 6, p. 32; 8, p. 259; 11, p. 41; 13, p. 547.]
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Feb. 9, 1861 Tennessee rejects a call for a secession convention by a vote of 68,000 to 59,500.

The Confederate Government urges South Carolina not to attack Fort Sumter "without the sanction and jurisdiction of our joint Government."

[2, p. 266.]
Feb. 11, 1861 Lincoln leaves Springfield, Illinois, for Washington, D.C.  He stops overnight in Indianapolis where he speaks to a crowd outside his hotel.  (He also spoke to crowds at nearly every stop along the way.)

[1, p. 216; 5, pp. 261--62; 6, p. 35; 7, p. 181; 11, p. 45; 13, pp. 560--61; 14, pp. 316--18.]

Anderson reports that new British cannon received by South Carolina are a serious threat to the security of his position.

[5, p. 283; 12, p. 169.]
Feb. 12, 1861 Lincoln travels to Cincinnati, where he again speaks to a crowd at his hotel.

[5, p. 263; 6, p. 36; 14, pp. 316--18.]

The Confederate Congress passes a resolution to take charge of the issues between the CSA and United States over the occupied forts.


[1, p. 249; 2, p. 261; 12, p. 254; full text of the resolution is here.]

Feb. 13, 1861

Lincoln's train now takes him to Columbus, where he addresses the state legislature.  The Electoral Votes are officially counted, certifying Lincoln's election as President.


[1, p. 220; 5, pp. 263--64; 6, p. 36; 7, p. 182; 11, p. 49; 13, p. 561; 14, pp. 316--18.]

Virginia secession convention opens.

[6, pp. 36--37; Freehling, Showdown in Virginia, p. xxiv.]


Gov. Pickens sends a letter to the Confederate Congress, demanding that "Fort Sumter should be reduced before the close of the present administration."

[12, pp. 254--57; full text of the letter is here.]


Feb. 14, 1861 Lincoln leaves Columbus for Pittsburgh; after giving a speech he leaves for Cleveland.

[5, p. 264; 6, p. 37; 7, p. 182; 14, pp. 316--18.]
Feb. 15, 1861 The Provisional Confederate Congress authorizes Davis to take "immediate steps" to acquire Forts Pickens and Sumter, via negotiation or force.

[3, p. 139; 5, p. 295; 12, p. 258; full text here.]


The Provisional Confederate Congress adopts a resolution calling for the appointment of "commissioners" to negotiate with the United States Government.

[Richardson, James D., Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Vol. I, United States Publishing Company, Nashville, 1905 (Archive Society 1996 reprint), p. 55; full text of the resolution is here.]
Feb. 16, 1861

Lincoln leaves Cleveland for Buffalo, New York.  Upon reaching the small town of Westfield, New York, he asks to see the young girl who had written to him and  suggested he grow a beard.


[5, pp. 264--265; 6, p. 38; 14, pp. 316--18.]





Jefferson Davis arrives in Montgomery.

[1,p. 214; 5, p. 254.]
President-elect Abraham Lincoln


Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis

Feb. 17, 1861 Lincoln attends church with former President Millard Fillmore, a resident of Buffalo.

 [5, pp. 265--66; 14, pp. 316--18.]
Feb. 18, 1861
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as Provisional President of the Confederate States of America.

 [1, p. 254; 5, p. 255; 11, p. 42; full text of his inaugural speech may be found here.]

Lincoln leaves Buffalo for Albany and a speech before the New York legislature.

[1, p. 220; 5, p. 266; 6, p. 39; 14, pp. 316--18.]


Brevet Brig. Gen. David Twiggs of the U.S. Regular Army surrenders the posts in the Department of Texas to state authorities.

[1, pp. 226--30; 5, p. 234; 6, p. 39; 10, p. 18; 11, p.14; 12, pp. 503--511.]


Arkansas votes to call a secession convention, but the elections for delegates leave it dominated by Unionists.

[5, p. 274; Edward McPherson, The Political History of the United States of America During the Great Rebellion, 1864, p. 4.]
Confederate President Jefferson Davis





Brevet Brig. Gen. David Twiggs








Feb. 19, 1861 Lincoln leaves Albany for New York City.

[5, p. 266; 6, p. 39; 14, pp. 316--18.]

Alarmed by rumors that Gov. Pickens plans to attack Fort Sumter soon, Buchanan and his Cabinet hastily organize a relief expedition but do not implement the plan, largely because former President John Tyler, soon to be a Confederate Congressman, assures them that no attack is planned.


[5, p. 283.]
Feb. 20, 1861 In a meeting with Mayor Fernando Wood of New York, Lincoln says, "There is nothing that can ever bring me willingly to consent to the destruction of this Union."

[1, pp. 220--21; 6, p. 40; 14, pp. 316--18.]

Major P.G.T. Beauregard resigns his commission in the United States Army.

[15, p. 46.]
Feb. 21, 1861

The Lincoln party leaves New York for Philadelphia.  That evening he is first informed of the possibility of plots against his life, to be carried out in Baltimore.


[3, p. 23; 5, pp. 267--69; 6, p. 40; 14, pp. 256--57, 316--18.]
President-elect Abraham Lincoln
Feb. 22, 1861 President-elect Lincoln addresses a Washington's Birthday celebration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, saying, in part, "It shall be my endeavor, to preserve the peace of this country so far as it can be done, consistently with the maintenance of the institutions of the country," then leaves for Harrisburg, where he addresses the state legislature.

[1, pp. 222--225; 3, p. 19; 5, p. 270; 6, pp. 40--41; 13, p. 561; 14,  pp. 256--57, 316--18.]

Confederate guns in Castle Pinckney fire a salute in honor of Washington's Birthday; Fort Sumter's guns respond in kind.

[5, p. 297.]
Feb. 23, 1861

After an all-night train ride (Harrisburg to Philadelphia to Baltimore to Washington, planned so that Lincoln's car passes through Baltimore in the dead of night) in secret, Lincoln arrives in Washington at 6 a.m.  That evening, after dinner, President Lincoln meets with former President John Tyler of Virginia, leader of the Washington Peace Conference and a delegation of members of that conference.

[1, p. 236; 3, pp. 15--17, 29; 5, pp. 270--71, 276--77; 6, p. 41; 8, pp. 261--62; 13, p. 562; pp. 256--57, 316--18.]


The Confederate government sends Maj. W.H.C. Whiting to Charleston to assess the situation.

[1, p. 250; 5, p. 295; 12, p. 258, full document is here.]


President-elect Abraham Lincoln


Maj. W.H.C. Whiting

Feb. 27, 1861
 Lincoln meets with a delegation of Virginians from the Peace Conference, including the aged William C. Rives.  According to some accounts, after much discussion, Lincoln tells Rives that he would withdraw the troops from Fort Sumter if Virginia would not secede.

[1, p. 298; 3, p. 34; 5, p. 279; 7, pp. 196--97; 14, pp. 353--54.]


Final day of the Washington Peace Conference.

[5, p. 285; 6, p. 42.]


Martin J. Crawford, A.B. Roman, and John Forsyth, appointed (on Feb. 25) as "commissioners" from the Confederate government to the United States Government, for the settlement of "all questions of disagreement between the two Governments," pursuant to the Resolution of the Provisional Confederate Congress passed on Feb. 15, are this day handed their formal instructions, in the form of a letter from President Jefferson Davis to the President of the United States.

[1, p. 258; 2, p. 314; 3, p. 142; 5, p. 294; full text of the letter is here.]

President-elect Abraham Lincoln
Feb. 28, 1861

North Carolina rejects a call for a secession convention.

The Confederate Congress authorizes the raising of an army of indeterminate size.

[1, p. 258; 2, p. 261; Statutes at Large of the Provisional Government of the C.S.A., p. 43.]


March 1, 1861

Davis assigns Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard to the command of C.S. forces in Charleston Harbor.

 [1, pp. 251--52; 2, pp. 277--78; 6, p. 43; 8, p. 267; 11, p. 56; 12, pp. 259--60.]

Confederate Secretary of War tells Gov. Pickens, "This Government assumes the control of military operations at Charleston, and will make demand of the fort when fully advised. An officer goes to-night to take charge."

[12, p. 259.]

Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard
March 2, 1861 Lincoln, at a dinner party, tells a German diplomat about his conversation with Rives, saying that, "A State for a fort is no bad business."

[3, p. 35.]



Gov. Henry M. Rector of Arkansas calls the convention approved on Feb. 18 into session, beginning on March 4th.

[Journal of Both Sessions of the Convention of the State of Arkansas, p. 5; text of the proclamation is here.
Gov. Henry M. Rector, of Arkansas

March 3, 1861
 Beauregard arrives in Charleston.

[1, p. 252; 5, p. 335; 6, p. 44; 15, p. 51.]

Gen. Winfield Scott writes to Secretary of State (designate) William Seward advising a very conciliatory policy, embracing either the Crittenden proposal or those of the Peace Convention.

[6, p. 44; 14, p. 264; the text of the letter is here; some authors believe that Seward actually wrote the letter himself.]

Martin J. Crawford of Georgia, one of the Confederate Commissioners, arrives in Washington.

[2, p. 316; 7, p. 207.]
Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
March 4, 1861
Abraham Lincoln sworn in as the 16th President of the United States; in his inauguration speech, he pledges "to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts."

[1, pp. 258--66; 2, p. 320; 3, pp. 36--42; 4, p. 128; 5, pp. 313--18; 6, p. 45; 7, pp. 187--94, 199-200; 8, pp. 261--63; 11, pp. 49--51; 13, p. 566--69; 14, pp. 319--29.]



Secretary of War Holt receives word from Maj. Anderson that, without 20,000 men in reinforcements, he cannot hold Fort Sumter; additionally, his supplies will not allow him to hold out for much longer than six weeks. This note is communicated to President Lincoln on March 5th.

[1, p. 261; 3, p. 44; 5, pp. 312, 319; 6, p. 45; 7, pp. 200--02; 8, p. 264; 11, p. 50; 13, p. 570; the full set of documents may be found here.]



Gov. Pickens of South Carolina telegraphs the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia: "Please send 400 shells for Dahlgren guns in addition to those already ordered."

[4, p. 109; 10, p. 41.]





The Arkansas Secession Convention opens.

[McPherson, Political History During the Great Rebellion, 1864, p. 4; Journal of Both Sessions of the Convention of the State of Arkansas, p. 7.]

President Abraham Lincoln







Outgoing Secretary of War Joseph Holt




Gov. Francis Pickens

March 5, 1861

President Lincoln asks Lt. Gen. Scott to offer his opinion on the several notes received the day before from Maj. Anderson.  Scott replies, "The difficulty of reinforcing has now been increased 10 or 15 fold."


[1, p. 3, pp. 45--48; 5, p. 319; 8, pp. 267--68; 11, p. 50; 13, p. 571.]

The Richmond Enquirer calls Lincoln's Inaugural Address  a "Declaration of War."


[3, p. 52; full text of the editorial may be found here.]

John Forsyth of Alabama, the second Confederate Commissioner, arrives in Washington.

[7, p. 207.]


President Abraham Lincoln







Confederate Commissioner John Forsyth

March 6, 1861 President Lincoln holds his first, brief---mostly a formality---Cabinet meeting.

[3, pp. 48--49; 7, p. 209.]

The Confederate Government provides for the establishment of an army of up to 100,000 men.  Beauregard assumes command at Charleston.

[1, p. 258; 2, p. 306; 15, p. 53; Statutes at Large of the Provisional Government of the C.S.A., pp. 43--44.]
March 7, 1861 Col. Samuel Cooper, Adjutant-General of the United States Army, resigns his commission to take up the same position within the Confederate Army.  He is replaced by Col. Lorenzo Thomas.

[2, p. 310; 4, pp. 128--29; 5, p. 326.]





Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg is assigned to the command of the Confederate troops "at and near Pensacola, Fla."

[12, p. 448.]

Col. Samuel Cooper


Confederate Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg


March 8, 1861
The Confederate Commissioners, using California Sen. William Gwin as an intermediary, send a memo to Secretary of State Seward, proposing to delay action against Fort Sumter for 20 days in return for a promise that the existing military position would be preserved.

[5, p. 328; 6, p. 48; 7, pp. 207--08; 14, p. 343.]







March 9, 1861
First full meeting of Lincoln's Cabinet.  President Lincoln inquires of General Scott, "what amount of means, and what description, in addition to those already at command, it would require to supply and reinforce the fort."  The consensus of the Cabinet is that the fort should be evacuated.

[1, p. 277; 2, pp. 346--347; 3, pp. 49--50; 5, p. 326; 6, p. 48; 7, pp. 202--03; Lincoln's query to Lt. Gen. Scott is here; 14, p. 337.]

President Abraham Lincoln
March 10, 1861

Seward meets with Virginia Senator R.M.T. Hunter, now acting as intermediary for the Confederate commissioners.  Hunter asks that Seward meet, informally, with the commissioners


[1, p. 292; 5, p. 329; 7, pp. 208--09; 14, p. 344.]
March 11, 1861
Seward declines to informally meet with the Confederate commissioners, so they present a request for a formal meeting.

[1, p. 292; 3, pp. 50;--51 6, pp. 48--49; 7, pp. 208--09; 14, p. 344.]




Confederate Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg assumes command of the troops confronting Fort Pickens:

PENSACOLA, FLA.,

March 11, 1861.

I. In compliance with Special Orders No. 1 from the War Department, Confederate States of America, dated at Montgomery, Ala., March 7, 1861, Brigadier-General Bragg assumes the command of all troops in the service of said States in the vicinity of Pensacola. His headquarters will be at Fort Barrancas.

 BRAXTON BRAGG,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.


[3, p. 141; 6, p. 48; 12, p. 449.]


Lincoln orders Scott to reinforce the meagre garrison at Fort Pickens.

[5, p. 360; 8, p. 268; 14, p. 359; see below (3/12/61)  for full documentation.]


Former Texas Senator Louis Wigfall (who is still in Washington) sends the following telegrams:

WASHINGTON, March 11, 1861.

General BEAUREGARD,
Commanding Army Confederate States, Charleston, S.C.:

Believed here that Anderson will be ordered to evacuate Sumter in five days. Was certainly informally agreed on in Cabinet Saturday night. May have been done as ruse to throw you off your guard and enable them to re-enforce.

 LOUIS T. WIGFALL.

-----

WASHINGTON, March 11, 1861.

His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS,
Montgomery, Ala.:

It is believed here in Black Republican circles that Anderson will be ordered to vacate Fort Sumter in five days. An informal conclusion to this effect was arrived at Saturday night in Cabinet. Anderson telegraphed, it is said, that he had no fuel and but fifteen days' provisions.

 LOUIS T. WIGFALL.

[5, p. 334; 12, p. 273.]
Secretary of State William H. Seward



Confederate Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg















Former Senator Louis T. Wigfall

March 12, 1861
General Scott replies to Lincoln (see March 9), saying that Anderson had hard bread, rice, and flour for only 26 days, and salt meat for 48; and to relieve the fort it would take a force of 25,000 men, adding, "As a practical military question the time for succoring Fort Sumter with any means at hand had passed away nearly a month ago. Since then a surrender under assault or from starvation has been merely a question of time."

[1, p. 277; 3, pp. 50--51; 5, p. 327; 6, pp. 48--49; 7, pp. 208--09; Scott's full document, taken from the Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, is here. 14, p. 337.]


Scott, at Lincoln's direction, sends the U.S.S. Mohawk to Fort Pickens with the following orders (to Capt. Israel Vogdes, in command of the reinforcements onboard the Brooklyn): 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

Washington, March 12, 1861.


Captain VOGDES,  U. S. Army,
On board U. S. sloop-of-war Brooklyn, lying off Fort Pickens:

SIR: At the first favorable moment you will land with your company, re-enforce Fort Pickens, and hold the same till further orders. Report frequently, if opportunities present themselves, on the condition of the fort and the circumstances around you.

I write by command of Lieutenant-General Scott.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 E. D. TOWNSEND,

Assistant Adjutant-General.
[1, pp. 276--77; 3, p. 51; 5, p. 333; 12, p. 360; 13, p. 578.]
The Charleston Mercury publishes an article asserting that Fort Sumter will be given up "without a fight."

[5, p. 334; full text of the article is here.]


Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott
March 13, 1861 The Confederate commissioners present a formal note to Secretary of State Seward, announcing their presence and mission in Washington.

[2, p. 325; 3, p. 55; 5, p. 329; 7, p. 207; 14, p. 344.]
Montgomery Blair, Lincoln's Postmaster General designate, brings his brother-in-law, Gustavus Fox (a former naval officer) to the White House to present to Lincoln a plan for re-supplying Fort Sumter.

[1, p. 277; 2, p. 357; 3, pp. 57--61; 5, pp. 330--31; 7, p. 213; 8, p. 268; 10, p. 44; 11, p. 51; 13, p. 574; 14, pp. 337--38.]

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox
March 14, 1861 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court John Campbell, now acting as intermediary between the Confederate commissioners and Secretary of State Seward, tells Seward that hostilities might break out at any moment.

[10, p. 51; 11, pp. 54--55; 13, p. 573.]
Assoc. Justice John Campbell

March 15, 1861
After Lincoln's Cabinet hears from Gustavus Fox (and other military men, including Gen. Scott), the President poses the following question: 

"Assuming it to be possible to now provision Fort Sumter, under all the circumstances, is it wise to do it?" 

Some members reply immediately, others reply on the 16th.  The Cabinet declines to support an expedition to relieve Fort Sumter; only Postmaster General Montgomery Blair is unequivocably opposed to evacuation.

[1, p. 277; 3, pp. 62--65; 5, pp. 331--32; 6, p. 49; 7, pp. 213--15; 11, p. 51; 12, pp. 196ff; 13, p. 571; 14, p. 338.]

Justice Campbell meets with Secretary of State Seward, who, without any authority to do so, assures Campbell that Fort Sumter will be evacuated in a matter of days.  Campbell passes this along to Commissioner Crawford, who then sends a note to this effect to the Confederate government in Montgomery.

[1, p. 293; 2, p. 329--30; 5, pp. 333--34; 10, p. 50; 13, p.  573; 14, pp. 345--46.]


Francis P. Blair, Sr., father of Montgomery Blair and one of the founders of the Republican Party, hearing from his son that the evacuation of Fort Sumter is being considered, goes immediately to the White House to remonstrate with the President.  

[1, p. 364; 3, pp. 67--68; 5, p. 331; 10, pp. 47--48; 14, p. 360; the precise date when Francis Blair, Sr. confronted Lincoln is sadly unclear, as many sources agree that it happened, they just are not in agreement as to the date; the date here is the Publisher's best assessment of the record.]

President Abraham Lincoln


Postmaster-General Montgomery Blair


Secretary of State William H. Seward


Francis Preston Blair, Sr.
March 18, 1861
Confederate Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg, commanding at Pensacola, cuts off passage of supplies to Fort Pickens.

[6, p. 50; 12, p. 451.]

Brig. Gen. Braxton Bragg

March 19, 1861

President Lincoln directs Secretary of War Simon Cameron to ask General Scott to send a "competent person" to Charleston in order to obtain "accurate information in regard to the command of Major Anderson in Fort Sumter." Scott selects Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox.

[1, p. 280; 5, p. 332;  6, p. 50; 7, p. 218; 12, p. 208; 14, p. 339.]
Secretary of War Simon Cameron


March 20, 1861

The Arkansas secession convention passes a series of Resolutions criticizing the sectional nature of the Republican Party and calling for a convention of the states.  Among the particulars of these resolutions is the idea that the President and Vice-President be required to be from different states as regards slavery.  In other words, if the President is from a non-slaveholding state, the Vice-President must be from a slave-holding state, and vice-versa


[Journal of Both Sessions of the Convention of the State of Arkansas, pp. 51--55; full text of the Resolutions is here.]     

March 21, 1861
Fox visits Charleston and Fort Sumter, where Maj. Anderson tells him he can hold out until April 15, and that no relief effort could succeed.

Secretary of State Seward again assures Justice Campbell (who informs both the commissioners and Jefferson Davis) that Fort Sumter will be evacuated within the next few days.

[1, pp. 280, 293; 2, pp. 330--31, 369--72; 3, pp. 71--72; 4, pp. 131--32; 5, pp. 341--42; 6, p. 51; 10, p. 53; 13, p. 573; 14, p. 521.]



Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens delivers what is now known as the "Cornerstone Speech" from a hotel balcony in Savannah, Georgia.

[5, p. 322; full text of the speech is here.]

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox





Alexander Stephens of Georgia

March 22, 1861

Stephen Hurlbut and Ward Hill Lamon, two Illinois acquaintences of Lincoln's, leave Washington for Charleston on a mission from Lincoln.

[1, pp. 280--282; 2, pp. 308--09; 5, p. 341; 7, p. 218; 10, p. 53; 13, p. 572; 14, pp. 340.]
Justice Campbell, in a memorandum to the Confederate Commissioners and Secretary of State Seward, repeats his belief that Fort Sumter will soon be evacuated.

[1, p. 293; 2, pp. 331--32; 5, p. 344; 7, p. 217; 13, p. 573; 14, pp. 346.]
Stephen Hurlbut


Assoc. Justice John Campbell



March 23, 1861 Secretary of State Seward tells the Russian Minister, Baron de Stoeckl, that Fort Sumter would be evacuated, and that a peace policy would be followed to induce the seceded states to return to the Union.

[5, pp. 344--45; 14, p. 347.]
 ,
March 24-25, 1861

Hurlbut visits old friends (and his sister) in Charleston and talks at length with James Petigru, who considers himself the only Unionist remaining in Charleston. Lamon meets with Gov. Pickens and is allowed out to Fort Sumter to see Maj. Anderson.  Lamon gives the impression to everyone he meets that Fort Sumter is to be evacuated.  The two men leave Charleston for the return trip on the evening of the 25th.  Fox returns and reports to Lincoln, also on the 25th

[1, p. 281; 2, pp. 308, 373--74; 3, pp. 72--74; 4, p. 134; 5, pp. 342--44; 6, p. 51; 7, pp. 218, 227--28; 8, p. 269; 10, pp. 53--54; 13, p. 572; 14, pp. 340--41.]
Ward Hill Lamon
March 26, 1861 Beauregard and Anderson exchange letters on the possibility of the fort being surrendered.

[1, p. 304; 2, pp. 308--09; 12, pp. 222--24.]

At a dinner party, Secretary of State Seward tells the British correspondent William Howard Russell that Fort Sumter will not be evacuated.  "We will give up nothing we have---abandon nothing that has been entrusted to us."

[5, p. 350; Russell's diary entry is here.]

At Fort Sumter, the garrison tears down the one remaining temporary building to be used as fuel.  Flannel shirts have been confiscated for use as cartridge bags.

[5, p. 364; 12, pp. 212, 220.]







William Howard Russell

March 27, 1861 In the morning, Seward takes Russell to meet President Lincoln.  Lincoln tells Russell, "The London 'Times' is one of the greatest powers in the world,---in fact, I don't know anything which has more power---except the Mississippi.  I am glad to know you as its minister."

[1, pp. 282--83; p. 75; 5, p. 351; Russell diary entry is here.]

General Beauregard wires Montgomery that the expulsion of the Federal garrison from Fort Sumter "ought now to be decided upon in a few days."

[3, p. 144; 12, p. 283.]
March 28, 1861
Early in the day, Lincoln receives Hurlbut's written report of his visit to Charleston, along with Lamon's oral report.  Lincoln then requests an interview with Gen. Scott before the state dinner scheduled for the evening.  During this interview Lincoln learns that General Scott wants to evacuate both of Forts Sumter and Pickens; the Cabinet, meeting informally after the state dinner, reverses itself, decides to send a relief expedition to Charleston Harbor.

[1, pp. 283--84; 3, p. 76; 5, pp. 353--54, 357; 8, pp. 269--70; 10, p. 55; Hurlbut's written report may be found here, and Scott's undated memo, here; 11, p. 53; 12, pp. 200--01; 14, pp. 360--61.]


Gov. Pickens tells the South Carolina Convention that 600 men are needed to man the Harbor forts.

[2, p. 365; 3, pp. 75--76; 6, p. 51; 7, pp. 229--33; 11, p. 53; 13, p. 574; 14, pp. 360--61.]







Russell was invited to the state dinner; his observations are here.
President Abraham Lincoln





Gov. Francis Pickens



William Howard Russell

March 29, 1861

(Good Friday)

Lincoln's Cabinet, meeting at noon, formally endorses a relief expedition for Fort Sumter.  Lincoln asks Secretary of War Cameron and Secretary of the Navy Welles to prepare an expedition, to sail as early as April 6th, to reinforce and/or re-provision Fort Sumter.

[1, pp. 284--285, 287; 2, p. 365; 3, pp. 79--81, 203; 5, pp. 353--58; 6, pp. 51--52; 7, p. 229; 8, p. 270; 10, p. 55; 11, pp. 52--55; 13, p. 574; 14, pp. 361--62.]






Confederate Secretary of War Walker directs Gen. Beauregard to "allow no further communications between the Government of the United States and Fort Sumter, unless the written instructions of the intermediary are first submitted to your inspection."

[12, p. 283.]


At Fort Sumter, the last barrel of flour is issued, leaving only hard bread (hardtack) for the garrison.  All of the laborers are discharged, except for enough men to man a boat crew.

[5, p. 365.]

At Seward's urging, Lincoln consults with Army Capt. Montgomery Meigs about reinforcing Fort Pickens.
[5, pp. 358--59.]

President Abraham Lincoln






Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker






Capt. Montgomery Meigs

March 31, 1861

(Easter Sunday)

President Lincoln orders an expedition sent to resupply and reinforce Fort Pickens.  Final approval is not given until April 1.  The plan was drawn up over the weekend by Capt. Meigs and Maj. Erasmus Keyes, Gen. Scott's military secretary.

[1, pp. 287--88; 3, pp. 82--85;  5, pp. 360--61;  6, p. 52; 8, p. 270; 13, p. 575; 14, p. 364.]

Russell dines at the British legation, with Sen. Charles Sumner as a guest.


[5, p. 366; Russell's diary entry is here.]
President Abraham Lincoln


William Howard Russell

April 1, 1861
C.S. Gen. Beauregard telegraphs his government that his batteries would all be in place in a few days, and asks, "What instructions?"

[3, p. 145; 11, p. 57; 12, p. 284.]






Justice Campbell again meets with Secretary of State Seward, who assures him that the United States will not attempt to re-supply Fort Sumter without first notifying South Carolina Governor Pickens. Confederate Commissioner Crawford telegraphs to Pickens, "I am authorized to say this Government will not undertake to supply Sumter without notice to you."

[1, p. 294; 2, p. 337; 3, p. 89; 5, p. 370; 11, pp. 54--55, 57--58; 13, p. 576; 14, p. 347.]


Seward's son, Frederick, gives Lincoln his father's memo, "Some Thoughts for the President's Consideration."  Lincoln replies the same day.  Both documents may be found here.

[1, p. 288; 3, pp. 91--92; 5, pp. 362--63, 375--77; 7, pp. 236--40; 13, pp. 576--77; 14, pp. 368--69.]


Seward telegraphs Virginia Unionist George Summers that the president wishes to see him in Washington at once.

[5, p. 381; 7, p. 241; 10, p. 64.]


 Word reaches Washington suggesting that the reinforcements have still not been landed at Fort Pickens.

[7, p. 241.]
Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard



Assoc. Justice John Campbell






Secretary of State William H. Seward

April 2, 1861

The Fort Sumter garrison is no longer allowed to procure supplies in the city.  Confederate Secretary of War Walker tells Gen. Beauregard that he should cut off all communication between the Fort and the city.


[1, p. 301; 3, p. 146; 11, p. 58; 12, p. 285.]

The Confederate commissioners telegraph to Montgomery, "The war wing presses on the President; he vibrates to that side."


[5, pp. 369--70; 10, p. 59; 12, p. 284.]
April 3, 1861

Confederate batteries fire upon lost steamer R.H. Shannon, entering Charleston Harbor by mistake.


[3, p. 98; 5 pp. 372--73.]

Seward brings Allan Magruder to see Lincoln; the President wishes to see George Summers at once; if this is not practical, a trusted colleague could be sent.

[3, p. 94; 5, p. 381--82.]


The journalist William Russell visits the Confederate commissioners at their hotel.

[5, p. 386; Russell's diary entry is here.]
William Howard Russell

April 4, 1861

(~11:00 a.m.) Lincoln meets with Virginia Unionist John Baldwin, selected by George Summers, and allegedly offers to evacuate Fort Sumter if Virginia's secession convention will adjourn. (The evidence on this meeting is very controversial.)

(Afternoon) The Virginia secession convention votes 89-45 against an ordinance of secession.

[1, p. 298; 3, p. 132; 5, pp. 382--83; 8, p. 255; 13, p. 577; 14, pp. 353--58.]

Later in the day Lincoln orders the relief expedition to Fort Sumter to go ahead.  Maj. Anderson is warned, in a letter sent by ordinary post, that the expedition is on its way.

[1, p. 295--96, 298; 2, pp. 311--12, 404; 3, pp. 94--96, 96--102; 6, pp. 53--54; 7, pp. 241--44, p. 246; 8, p. 271; 12, p. 235; 13, pp. 577--78; 14, p. 362.]
John Baldwin of Virginia

April 5, 1861

Russell has dinner and a lively discussion with the Confederate commissioners and some other Southerners.


[5, pp. 386--87; Russell's diary entry is here.]
William Howard Russell
April 6, 1861
Lincoln sends a special messenger to Gov. Pickens of South Carolina, informing him of the mission of the relief expedition, and promising him that if no resistence is offered, no troops, arms or ammunition would be moved into the fort.  This message is received by Pickens on the 8th, with Beauregard present.

[1, p. 301; 2, pp. 394--95; 3, pp. 108--09, 123--24; 4, pp. 138--39; 5, pp. 390--91; 6, p. 54; 7, p. 247; 8, pp. 271--72; 11, p. 59; 12, pp. 251--52; 13, p. 579; 14, p. 363.]

Lincoln learns that his March 12 order to land troops to reinforce Fort Pickens has not been complied with.  Almost immediately, Lt. John Worden is sent (via train) to Pensacola with orders from the Secretary of the Navy to land the troops.

[1, p. 297; 3, pp. 109--10; 5, pp. 391--92; 13, p. 579;  14, p. 362.]


This afternoon, the steamer Atlantic, with 500 troops on board, escorted by the U.S.S. Powhatan, sets out for Fort Pickens.

[3, p. 107; 14, p. 365.]







The journalist Russell dines again with General Scott.

[5, p. 387, full diary entry here.]
Gov. Francis Pickens



Lt. John L. Worden



U.S.S. Powhatan


William Howard Russell

April 7, 1861

Beauregard cuts off Fort Sumter's daily market supplies.  Maj. Anderson is informed that the relief expedition is on its way.

[2, p. 382; 4, p. 138; 11, p. 58; 12, p. 248.]

Virginia Unionist John Minor Botts meets with Lincoln and learns of the April 4th proposal to John Baldwin; like the Baldwin meeting, this encounter is  very controversial.

[3, pp. 111--13; 5, p. 393; 6, p. 54.]




The commissioners ask Justice Campbell to inquire of Seward as to Fort Sumter.  He receives a terse reply, unsigned:  "Faith as to Sumter fully kept.  Wait and see."  At 9 p.m. the commissioners send their secretary, John T. Pickett, to Seward's home.  Told that the Secretary was out, Pickett told Frederick Seward, his father's personal secretary, that the commissioners wanted a response to their note of March 12, and he would call for it at 2 p.m. on the 8th to get it.

[1, p. 300; 3, pp. 114--15; 5, pp. 392--93; 14, p. 348.]
John Minor Botts


Assoc. Justice John Campbell

April 8, 1861

Both Beauregard and Bragg are informed that "Our Commissioners at Washington have received a flat refusal."

[3, pp. 147--48; 12, p. 457.]
Gov. Pickens sends Lincoln's message to the Confederate  government in Montgomery; Davis calls for 20,000 additional men (beyond the ~11,000 at Charleston and Pensacola) for the Confederate Army.


[1, p. 301; 5, p. 399 11, pp. 60, 79; 12, p. 291.]
At 2 p.m., the secretary for the Confederate commissioners calls at the State Department and receives a reply, dated March 15, rejecting any request for recognition.  Outraged at what they perceive to be duplicity, they prepare to depart Washington, but not before warning Beauregard and Davis.  Beauregard cuts off mail to and from Fort Sumter (8 p.m.).

5, pp. 394, 396; 14, p. 349; the document they received is here.]


William Russell is invited to Secretary Seward's house for a game of whist.

[1, p. 300; 3, pp. 115--16; 5, p. 395; full diary entry here.]




Walker wires Beauregard: "Under no circumstances are you to allow provisions to be sent to Fort Sumter."

[3, p. 148;, 12, p. 289.]


Confederate Secretary of War Walker issues a call for 20,000 additional troops, in anticipation of hostilities.

[11, p. 79.]
William Howard Russell










Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker

April 9, 1861 The Confederate Cabinet concurs with President Davis's order  to General Beauregard that Fort Sumter should be reduced before the relief fleet arrives.  Secretary of State Toombs argues against firing the first shots:  "Mr. President, at this time, it is suicide, murder, and will lose us every friend at the North."  A bag of mail from Fort Sumter to Washington is seized by Confederates in Charleston and the official communications are opened and read.

[1, pp. 301--02; 4, p. 139; 5, pp. 397, 399; 8, p. 274--74; 11, p. 59; 13, pp. 581--82.]


According to Capt. Doubleday of the Sumter garrison, Secretary of War Cameron's warning of the approaching relief expedition reaches Maj. Anderson on this day.


[4, p. 139.]
April 10, 1861

Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker orders Beauregard to demand the evacuation of Fort Sumter, under threat of bombardment.

 [1, pp. 302; 3, p. 151; 4, p. 139; 5, p. 400; 6, p. 55;  11, p. 60; 12, p. 297; 13, p. 582; 15, pp. 56--57.]






Virginia secessionist Roger Pryor gives a speech at the Charleston Hotel, in which he says, "I thank you especially that you have at last annihilated this accursed Union, reeking with corruption and insolent with excess of tyranny. Not only is it gone, but gone forever.  As sure as tomorrow's sun will rise upon us, just so sure will old Virginia be a member of the Southern Confederacy; and I will tell your Governor what will put her in the Southern Confederacy in less than an hour by a Shrewsbury clock. Strike a blow! (Tremendous applause.)  The very moment that blood is shed, old Virginia will make common cause with her sisters of the South."

[1, pp. 306; 2, p. 305; 8, p. 273.]


The Charleston Courier publishes an editorial that essentially calls for war.

[3, p. 138; full text of the editorial is here.]


Rumors of an impending attack on Fort Sumter are commonplace in Washington.

[5, pp. 403--04.]
Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker


Virginia secessionist Roger Pryor






April 11, 1861

(2:20 p.m.) Gen. Beauregard demands the evacuation of Fort Sumter.

(5:10 p.m., approx.) Anderson refuses, but adds, "if you do not batter us to pieces we will be starved out in a few days." Beauregard communicates this comment to the Confederate government and asks for instructions.

(9:10 p.m.) Beauregard is instructed: "If Major Anderson will state the time at which, as indicated by him, he will evacuate, and agree that in the mean time he will not use his guns against us unless ours should be employed against Fort Sumter," then Fort Sumter should not be bombarded.

[1, pp. 307-09; 2, pp. 422-24; 3, p. 152; 5, pp. 401--02; 6, p. 56; 11, p. 60; 12, pp. 13, 59, 301; 13, p. 582; 15, pp. 57--58.]


The Confederate Commissioners leave Washington.

[2, p. 343.]


Lt. Worden reaches Pensacola.

[5, p. 406; 12, p. 463.]


The Indianapolis Daily Journal publishes an editorial in support of Lincoln's policy towards the secessionists.

[Full text of the editorial is here.]


Russell has dinner with Scott, Seward, and Bates.

[1, p. 300; 5, p. 406; 14, pp. 264--65; diary entry is here.]

Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard





























William Howard Russell

April 12, 1861

(12:45 a.m.) Beauregard asks Anderson if he can comply with the demands of the Confederate government. Anderson offers to evacuate on April 15th at noon, but declines to promise not to use his guns in support of any operations under the United States flag. This is considered unsatisfactory.

(3:00 a.m.) Elements of the relief fleet begin to gather outside Charleston Harbor.

(3:20 a.m.) Anderson is informed that the Confederates will open fire in one hour.

(4:30 a.m.) Confederate batteries open fire on Fort Sumter.  The first shot, a mortar round from Fort Johnson, is also a signal to the other batteries to open fire.  The second shot, from the Cummings Point batteries, is fired by the Virginia secessionist Edmund Ruffin, serving as a volunteer artillerist.


[1, p. 308--11; 2, pp. 424--29; 4, 3, pp. 153, 170--75; p. 142--55; 5, pp. 402, 409--13; 6, pp. 56--57; 7, pp. 249--50; 8, pp. 273--74; 11, pp. 60--62; 12, pp. 14, 29--30, 33, 60; 13, pp. 582--83; 15, p. 58.]


Lt. Worden arrives at Fort Pickens and the troops on the Brooklyn are landed at the fort.  A few days later, the Atlantic arrives with 500 additional men, and they are landed immediately.  Worden attempts to return north via train through Montgomery, Alabama, but is taken off the cars there and arrested.  He will spend seven months in Confederate prisons before being released.

[3, p. 170; 5, p. 406; 6, p. 57; 12, p. 460.]


Russell leaves for Baltimore, on his way South.

[5, p.407ff.]
Maj. Robert Anderson 
























Lt. John L. Worden

April 13, 1861

(9:00 a.m.) Fire breaks out inside Fort Sumter and begins to threaten the magazine.

(2:30 p.m., approximately) Maj. Anderson surrenders after a 34 hour bombardment.

[1, pp. 313--324; 2, pp. 435--441; 4, pp. 155--165; 5, pp. 415--418; 6, pp. 57--58; 8, pp. 273--74; 11, pp. 67--68; 12, pp. 29--30, 33; 13, pp. 582--83; 15, pp. 59--61.]


Lincoln meets with a delegation of members of the Virginia Secession Convention, and presents them a written response to their inquiry.

[3, pp. 154--56; 7, p. 250; the full document is here.]
Fort Sumter under fire








President Abraham Lincoln

April 14, 1861 During the surrender ceremonies at Fort Sumter, a cannon misfires, killing United States Private Daniel Hough and mortally wounding Pvt. Edward Galloway; four others (Privates George Fielding, John Irwin, George Pinchard, and James Hayes) are wounded, but only Fielding seriously enough to be sent to a Charleston hospital. These are the only casualties of the crisis.

[1, p. 324; 2, p. 446; 4, pp. 171--72; 5, p. 419; 6, p. 59; 15, p. 61.]
April 15, 1861
Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops to put down "combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings."  The same proclamation calls Congress into session on July 4.

[1, pp. 327--30; 3, p. 157; 5, p. 427; 6, pp. 59--60; 7, p. 250; 8, p. 274; 11, pp. 73--74; the full text of Lincoln's proclamation is here.]



Henry Wise, former Virginia governor and future Confederate general, meets with a group of militia officers to plan the capture of Harpers Ferry and its Federal arsenal.


[1, pp. 332--33; 8, p. 279.]
President Abraham Lincoln



Henry Wise

April 16, 1861

General Beauregard submits his report on the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter.

[12, p. 29.]


Davis calls for a further 34,000 men for the Confederate Army.  North Carolina militia seize two coastal defense forts.


[1, p. 363; 6, p. 60; 11, p. 79; 12, p. 477.]


The U.S.S. Atlantic arrives at Fort Pickens with more troops to reinforce the garrison.

 [5, p. 406.]

Late in the day, William Russell's train reaches Charleston.

[5, p. 423.]
Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard










William Howard Russell

April 17, 1861 Virginia secedes, subject to a referendum to be held on May 23.

[1, p. 332; 3, p. 162; 5, p. 427; 6, p. 60; 8, pp. 278--79; 10, p. 93; 11, pp. 82--83.]
Jefferson Davis issues a proclamation offering letters of marque and reprisal.

[3, p. 163; 5, p. 427; 5, p. 428; 6, pp. 60--61; 8, pp. 278--79; 11, p. 78; full text of the proclamation by Davis is here.]

Russell visits the Confederate works in Charleston Harbor as well as Fort Sumter.  His diary entry is here.
April 18, 1861 The U.S.S. Illinois arrives at Fort Pickens, bolstering its defense.

[5, p. 406.]


April 19, 1861

Virginia militia seize the Federal armory at Harpers Ferry. In Baltimore a mob attacks the 6th Massachusetts as it marches through the city; six soldiers are killed, along with 12 members of the mob.


[1, pp. 333, 340--43; 3, pp. 164--65; 6, pp. 61--62; 8, p. 279, 285; 11, pp. 84--92.]

President Lincoln announces a blockade of the Southern and Gulf coasts.

[5, p. 429; 6, pp. 61--62; 8, pp. 313--314; full text of the blockade proclamation, and the April 27 extension, may be found here.]

Near midnight, the Mayor of Baltimore sends parties out to burn the railroad bridges leading into Baltimore from the north, thus effectively isolating Washington.

[11, pp. 89--90.] 

April 20, 1861

Under threat from gathering Virginia militia, the commander of the vital Gosport Navy Yard orders it abandoned, along with immense stores of cannon and artillery ammunition, as well as several U.S. Navy vessels.  One of those ships, the steam frigate U.S.S. Merrimack, was partially burned, but would be re-built as the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia.  Virginia militia almost immediately occupy the place.


[1, pp. 346--49; 3, p. 164; 6, p. 63; 8, pp. 279--280; 11, p. 96.]
April 22, 1861

Davis wires Gov. Letcher of Virginia:  "Sustain Baltimore, if practicable. We re-enforce you."


[3, p. 165.]


April 23, 1861

Arkansas militia seize Fort Smith and the Federal arsenal at Little Rock.


[6, p. 64; 8, p. 282.]
April 24, 1861 Virginia enters into a "convention" with the Confederacy, in advance of the secession referendum.

[1, p. 360; 10, pp. 93--94; 11, p. 83; text of this "convention" is here.]
April 27, 1861

President Lincoln extends the blockade of the Southern coast to include Virginia and North Carolina.


[6, p. 66; document is here.]
May 1, 1861

The North Carolina Legislature passes a bill calling for a state convention, the delegates to be elected on the 15th. The Tennessee Legislature passes a bill authorizing the Governor to appoint Commissioners to enter into a military league with the authorities of the Confederate States.

[1, p. 363; 8, p. 283; Edward McPherson, Political History of the United States During the Great Rebellion, 1864, p. 5.]     


President Lincoln writes to Gustavus Fox about the failure of the Sumter expedition.


May 6, 1861

Arkansas secedes.


[1, p. 365; 6, p. 70; 7, p. 251; 8, pp. 282; 10, p. 106; McPherson, The Political History During the Great Rebellion, 1864, p. 4.]
May 7, 1861

The Tennessee Legislature, in secret session, ratifies the  alliance with the Confederacy authorized on May 1.  In addition, a Declaration of Independence and Ordinance dissolving the relations between Tennessee and the United States, and an ordinance adopting and ratifying the Confederate Constitution, were passed; these latter two to be voted on by the people on June 8th.
May 21, 1861 North Carolina secedes.
May 23, 1861

Virginia's referendum on secession passes, 126,000 to 20,400.


[1, p. 332; 6, p. 77; 8, p. 280; 10, p. 93.]

Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of the New York Fire Zouaves is killed by James T. Jackson after removing a Confederate flag from the Marshall House, an Alexandria hotel owned by Jackson, who is himself immediately killed by one of Ellsworth's men.  Ellsworth becomes one of the first Northern "heroes" of the war that is just beginning.


[1, pp. 390--92;  10, pp. 145--46; 11, pp. 113--14; for a "deep dive" on Ellsworth see this book.]

June 3, 1861
The "Little Giant," Stephan A. Douglas, dies.

[1, pp. 392--94; 6, p. 82; 8, p. 274; 10, pp. 149--50.]

Federal troops in western Virginia soundly defeat a Confederate force near Phillipi.  This is very instrumental in the movement to create a separate state of West Virginia.


[1, pp. 406--07; 6, p. 82; 11, pp. 143--44.]
June 8, 1861

Tennessee secedes; the vote in the referendum is 105,000--47,000.


[6, p. 83; 8, pp. 282--83; 10, pp. 105--06.]
June 10, 1861

The Battle of Big Bethel takes place on the Virginia Peninsula.  The Civil War has truly begun.


[1, pp. 436--37; 6, p. 84.]