February 1, 1862 - Texas Convention passes its Ordinance of Secession

San Jacinto Monument, Texas

February 1, 1862

Texas became the seventh Southern state to approve an Ordinance of Secession. The vote in Austin took place 150 years ago today.

The decision by the delegates to the Texas Secession Convention to revert to the status of the state to that of an independent republic, which it had been until it joined the United States in 1845, was made by a margin of 166-8 and over the objections of Texas hero, governor and former president, Sam Houston. Although Texas authorities moved immediately under the assumption that Texas would ally itself with the other seceding states, the document was not entirely definitive as it required a vote of the people for final approval. That vote would not take place until February 23, 1861 and would approve the decision to secede by a wide margin.

San Jacinto Monument

Texas was unique among the Southern states in that it had been an independent republic from 1836 until it was accepted into the Union in 1845. Its fourteen year status as an independent country gave Texas a stronger case for the right to leave the Union than any other state, although parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been obtained by the United States thanks to the brief existence of the 1810 Republic of West Florida, which had seized land from Spain in a revolution and then turned the territory over to the U.S.

Although the vote of the state's residents was still to come, Texas moved forward with plans to send delegates to the meeting convened by the seceding states at Montgomery, Alabama. This session would lead to the organization of the Confederate States of America, of which Texas would become a part.

The right of Texas to secede remains a matter for debate even today, as became apparent when Governor Rick Perry noted that the state could do so as recently as last year.

The Republic of Texas came into existence as a result of the Texas Revolution of 1836, remembered today largely for the tragic fall of the Alamo in San Antonio. Although the courageous stand at the Alamo resulted in the death of the mission turned fort's defenders, General Sam Houston was able to rally his troops and with the battle cry of "Remember the Alamo!" defeated Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Captured following the battle, Santa Anna signed documents agreeing to give Texas its independence.

The Republic of Texas remained an independent entity until it became an American state in 1845, but by a wide margin Texans felt they had every right to return to that status if they so decided. And the process of making that decision began 150 years ago today with the approval of the Texas Ordinance of Secession.

January 26, 1861 - Louisiana Secedes

Old Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

January 26, 1861

Celebrations erupted in Baton Rouge 150 years ago today when the State of Louisiana seceded from the Union. In declaring its independence from the Union, Louisiana became the sixth Southern state to do so, joining South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Georgia in becoming an independent republic.

The following account of the key day of the state's secession convention was written by a correspondent of the Richmond Daily Appeal:
 

Baton Rouge, Jan. 26.

--The vote on submitting the ordinance to the people was taken this morning — ayes 45, nays 84.

John Perkins addressed the Convention on the passage of the Secession Ordinance.

The debate closed, and a vote was ordered.

The galleries and lobbies were intensely crowded, and a deathlike silence prevailed.--On the call of the roll many members were in tears.

The Clerk announced the vote — ayes 113, nays 17--and the President declared Louisiana a free and sovereign republic.

Capt. Allen then entered the Convention with a Pelican flag, accompanied by Governor Moore and staff, and put the flag in the hands of the President, amid tremendous excitement.

A solemn prayer was then offered, and a hundred guns were fired.

The Convention adjourned to meet in New Orleans on the 29th inst.

Before the Convention adjourned the resolution accompanying the ordinance, declaring the right of free navigation of the Mississippi river and tributaries to all friendly States, and the right of egress and ingress to boats of the Mississippi by all friendly States and Powers, passed unanimously.

A gold pen was given each member with which to sign the Ordinance of Secession. 

January 19, 1861 - Georgia Secedes from the Union

Old Capitol Building in Milledgeville

January 19, 1861

Over the stern warning of such delegates as former U.S. Congressman (and future Confederate Vice President) Alexander H. Stephens, the Georgia Secession Convention voted 150 years ago today to declare the state's independence from the United States.

One of the thirteen original states, Georgia became the fifth Southern state to leave the Union. South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama had already passed ordinances of secession. By joining them, Georgia provided geographic continuity to the growing list of newly independent Southern republics. While the Confederate States of America would not be formed until February, there was already recognition among the states that they would need to unify in some way for the purpose of defense.

Georgia's Old Capitol Building

Milledgeville was then the capital city of Georgia and the vote took place in the beautiful Old Capitol Building, the oldest public building of the Gothic revival style in the country. The vote was taken at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and passed by a margin of 208-89. Convention President George W. Crawford proclaimed the ordinance passed and celebrations erupted throughout much of the state, even as many worried about the course Georgia would now follow.

Once the decision was made, most of the state's pro-Union leaders unified with the secessionists. As in much of the South, most felt that their loyalty was owed first to their state. Even though many disagreed with the direction that had been charted, they committed their all to Georgia's success.

To learn more about the historic Old Capitol Building in Milledgeville, Georgia, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gaoldcapitol.

January 17, 1861 - Alexander Stephens Warns of Coming Desolation

Alexander H. Stephens

January 17, 1861


As the delegates to the Georgia Secession Convention debated the future course of their state, they heard on this date from the man who would soon rise to prominence as the Vice President of the Confederacy.

A lawyer and former congressman, Alexander Hamilton Stephens was a powerful speaker despite the fact that he was ill throughout his life and weighed less than 100 pounds. Although he opposed anti-slavery measures and owned slaves, Stephens was a strong believer in the Union. Like most Southerners of his day, he put his loyalty to his state first, but 150 years ago today he rose to warn of what would come if the delegates continued on their path to passage of an Ordinance of Secession:

Old Capitol Building in Milledgeville

...When we and our posterity shall see our lovely South desolated by the demon of war which this act of yours will inevitably invite and call forth; when our green fields of waving harvests shall be trodden down by the murderous soldiery and fiery car of war sweeping over our land; our temples of justice laid in ashes; all the horrors and desolations of war upon us - who but this Convention shall be held responsible for it? - Alexander Stephens, January 17, 1861.

 

 It was said by those who knew and heard him that Stephens was one of the most powerful speakers of his day, able to keep audiences spellbound with the thundering and emotional quality of his voice. Stories are told to this day of how word would pass through capitol halls in both Georgia and Washington, D.C., when the "Little Giant" rose to speak and spectators would crowd legislative chambers until they were overflowing with eager listeners.

 

Stephens' words were powerful on that January day and held the delegates and visitors to the historic Old Capitol Building in Milledgeville spellbound, but even he was unable to turn the course of his state away from the step it would take two days later.

 

January 11, 1861 - Alabama Secedes & Demand for Surrender of Fort Sumter is Refused

Alabama State Capitol

January 11, 1861

Just 24 hours after Florida seceded the previous day, Alabama joined the growing number of Cotton States in leaving the Union on January 11, 1861.

As the ladies of Montgomery unveiled a blue flag that included the words "Independent Now and Forever" on one side and the Latin words "Nole Me Tangere" or "Touch Me Not" on the other, the delegates to the Alabama Secession Convention passed an ordinance of secession that specifically blamed the "election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States of America."

The document also included an invitation to the other Southern states to meet in Montgomery on February 4, 1861, to consider measures for the "common peace and security." This convention, of course, would lead to the formation of the Confederate States of America.

Please click here to learn more about Alabama's historic old capitol, where the ordinance of secession was passed: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/montgomerycapitol2.

In Louisiana, meanwhile, state troops took possession of Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River below New Orleans. The forts were the primary river defenses for New Orleans and were considered of vital military importance.

Fort Sumter in 1861

In South Carolina, the first demand for the surrender of Fort Sumter was made by the State of South Carolina. Major Robert Anderson, commanding the fort, refused. Work continued on the fort at a rapid pace as soldiers and workmen struggled to place the unfinished citadel into a defensible condition. Guns were mounted and traverses constructed to protect exposed positions inside and on the top of the fort.

Around Charleston Harbor, state forces pushed forward with the construction of battery positions. Defenses facing the harbor and Fort Sumter were improved at Fort Moultrie and sand batteries were thrown up at other positions. The progress was rudimentary at this stage of the growing siege, but would intensify over the coming months.

To learn more about Fort Sumter, please visit http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortsumter.