CIVIL WAR TIMELINE 1861 Early 1861 Although the country has feared war for years, no one truly expects the horror the Civil War will become – in fact, South Carolina Senator James Chesnut boldly promises to drink all the blood that might be shed as a result of secession. He could never have imagined that in the South, between 1861 and 1865, three out of four white men of military age will take up arms . or that twice as many soldiers will die of disease as of wounds of battle. As one Iowa veteran would later observe, dying of illness offered “all of the evils of the battlefield with none of its honors.” [Faust, 4] Jan. 1 President-elect Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful. “ Louisiana Senator Benjamin’s statement that “The South will never be subjugated” is met with “disgraceful applause, screams and uproar” by the crowds in the Senate gallery. [New York Times, p. 7] Rumors continue to circulate about Lincoln’s cabinet appointments. Fortifications in Charleston’s harbor are increased as tension mounts. st “ TN “Jan. 1 finds the American Eagle in great distress. .The politicians cannot save the Union, the people are divided, business [is] stagnant & nothing but the powers of Almighty God can save us from that destruction to which we are so rapidly hastening.” [Diary of William L.B. Lawrence, Nashville attorney] Jan. 2 South Carolina seizes inactive Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor. The governor of North Carolina sends troops to seize Fort Macon, the forts at Wilmington, and the U.S. Arsenal at Fayetteville. “ Georgia state troops occupy the U.S. Arsenal in Savannah and forts in Pulaski and Jackson. [NYT, p. 8] Reports from Virginia suggest that its citizens are leaning toward secession to a much greater degree. [p. 8] Jan. 4 Delaware rejects Mississippi’s proposal to join the Confederacy. [p. 8] Jan. 5 Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan and Gaines in Mobile Bay. President Buchanan sends 250 Federal troops from New York to Fort Sumter. Jan. 6 TN The South Carolina students in the medical department of the University of Nashville have been telegraphed to leave for home to join the army. Five left on the train Friday morning, and seven on the train yesterday morning. They go, like dutiful sons, to defend their mother. [Nashville Daily Gazette] Jan. 7 TN Governor Isham Harris calls the Legislature into session to adopt a reso- lution asking Tennesseans to vote for or against a convention to consider the possibility of secession. He recommends the organization of a state militia and the purchase of arms, and states that “the remedy for the present evils exists only in constitutional amendments.” [NYT, p. 1] “ Florida troops have taken over Fort Marion at St. Augustine and the Federal arsenal at Apalachicola. Georgia counties are voting whether to secede: the total is 70 for immediate secession, 29 to remain in the Union, and 5 divided. [8] “ Editorial writers express skepticism at the ability of the South to sustain a military campaign against the Federal government, on economic grounds alone: growing primarily cotton, tobacco, and corn, it could not feed itself; second, CIVIL WAR TIMELINE 1861 without Northern and British markets for its cotton and tobacco, or with its fields destroyed by warfare, it could not maintain a military force. [NYT, p. 4] Jan. 8 Huge meetings are held in Chicago and other northern cities in which citizens express their support of the Union. Jan. 9 TN The vote on a secession convention fails, nearly four-to-one. On the same day, Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union. (South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860.) Louisiana elects a slate of pro- secession candidates. Members of President Buchanan’s cabinet continue to resign, one by one. Several Naval officers resign their commands; one sur- renders his ship, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Aiken, to the Confederacy. [NYT, p. 1] “ TN “We cannot see how any Southern man, who is at all familiar with the history of the times, can . solemnly declare it inexpedient for the people of his State to hold a convention and determine whether they will resist or submit to the Abolition rule now about to be inaugurated. .Tennessee will resist.” [Nashville Daily Gazette] “ The first shots of the Civil War are fired: Star of the West, an unarmed merchant vessel secretly carrying federal troops and relief supplies to Fort Sumter, is fired upon by South Carolina artillery at the entrance to Charleston harbor. Major Anderson and Governor Pickens exchange messages accusing each other of warlike acts, and Anderson sends dispatches to Washington to determine what he should do. [NYT, p. 1] Jan. 10 Southern states take issue with President Buchanan’s appointment of a new Secretary of War. Florida is third to secede from the Union, by a vote of 62- 7. [p. 1] Lincoln, who will be inaugurated on March 4, announces that he will appoint William H. Seward as his Secretary of State. [p. 5] Newspapers across the country carry several reports of Southern slave insurrections. Jan. 11 Thousands of pounds of food and other supplies are sent to Kansas from around The country to aid those suffering from famine conditions. President Buchanan, who has excused his previous inactivity with the statement, “Time is a great conservative power,” becomes more assertive. “His declaration of the ‘clear and undeniable right’ and duty of the National Government to use military force defensively against those who resist the Federal officers in the execution of their legal functions, and against those who assail the property of the United States” is much more resolute. Alabama secedes from the Union. Jan. 12 TN The House calls a State Convention for February 18; if the Convention resolves to withdraw from the Union, its action will be put to a popular vote. Meanwhile, several rallies in Kentucky seem to indicate strong support for remaining in the Union. Jan. 14 TN A quote from an 1858 Lincoln speech denouncing states that withheld the right to vote from their black citizens is tracked to the Nashville Union and American. The quote is proven to have come from a speech by Salmon P. Chase instead. [New York Times, p. 4] “ Fort Pickens is surrendered to Florida troops. Virginia sets February 18 as the date of its State Convention to consider secession. The South Carolina House CIVIL WAR TIMELINE 1861 of Representatives passes a resolution stating that “any attempt by the Federal Government to reinforce Fort Sumter will be regarded as an act of open hostility and a declaration of war. [NYT, p. 1] Jan. 16 The Golden Star, traveling from Mobile to Liverpool, goes down near the coast of Ireland, taking with her the captain, his wife, sixteen crew members, and 3,750 bales of cotton. [NYT, p. 5] The Georgia Convention begins; Arkansas schedules a state convention for February 18, the same day as Tennessee’s. “ The Pennsylvania state legislature, and presumably the legislatures of other border states, begins efforts to maintain peaceful relationships with neighboring slave states that may join the Confederacy. [Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Express] Jan. 18 Ex-President Tyler writes a letter to the Richmond Whig expressing his views that secession is a state’s legal right and is far preferable to rebellion. Jan. 19 Georgia secedes from the Union, quickly denying that its decision has been prompted in any way by a desire to restore the slave trade. Mississippi troops take Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island. th “ TN The House accepts the Senate’s amendment to elect delegates on the 9 and th to assemble in Convention on the 25 of February. [New York Times, p. 1] Jan. 21 Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southern Senators resign. The Philadelphia Pennsylvanian publishes a letter from South Carolina which describes their volunteer army as consisting of “at least 3,000 men under arms on the coast,” with “more provisions than can be consumed.” The Kentucky Legislature adopts verbatim the anti-coercion resolutions of the Tennessee Legislature, while many Kentuckians hold firm to their belief in the Union. “ TN Memphis follows the example of Mississippi and Louisiana and begins to set up blockades and cannons along the Mississippi. [Memphis Avalanche] A couple of near-misses with freight and passenger ships create a mood of indignation and outrage among those traveling on the river. [Vicksburg Sun] Jan. 22 TN “About 7 o’clock last night fifteen guns were fired from Capitol Hill in honor of the secession of Georgia.” [Nashville Daily Gazette] Jan. 24 The Confederacy seizes the Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia. Rumors spread that Secessionists plan to seize the Capitol and thus prevent the inauguration of Lincoln. [Philadelphia Press] The Governor of Louisiana issues a strong Statement making it quite clear that the people of the state “are not to be cajoled into an abandonment of our rights, and not to be subdued. All hopes are at an end that the dissensions between the North and South can be healed.” [NYT, p.1] “ TN The Tennessee House responds to New York’s offer of men and money to the Federal Government “to be used in coercing certain sovereign States of the South into obedience to the Federal Government” by saying “It is the opinion of this General Assembly, that whenever the authorities of that State shall send armed forces to the South for the purpose indicated in said resolutions, the people of Tennessee, uniting with their brethren of the South, will ‘welcome them with bloody hands to hospitable graves.’” The resolution passes by a vote of 59-7.