Georgia militia siezes Augusta Arsenal

Georgia Militia seizes the Federal Arsenal at Augusta

• Following Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown’s demand for surrender of the U.S. Arsenal at Augusta, US Capt. Arnold Elzey, commander of the Arsenal, received a telegram at 1 a.m. from the U.S. Secretary of War directing: "It is not expected that your defense should be desperate. If forced to surrender by violence or starvation, you will stipulate for honorable terms, and a free passage by water with your company to New York." Later in the morning, Capt. Elzey sends a message to Georgia Gov. Joseph E. Brown requesting an honorable surrender. By afternoon, Augusta militia units take possession of the Arsenal, along with four cannons, 22,000 muskets and rifles, and supplies of powder and shot. At 4:00 that afternoon, a white flag with a large red star in the center signifying Georgia's sovereignty was raised over the Arsenal. Capt. Elzey and his garrison would subsequently leave Georgia for Washington, D.C., where he would resign his commission after the firing on Fort Sumter and become eventually become a major general in the Confederate army./1861 

• Federal troops are dispatched from Fort Monroe, Virginia, to reinforce Fort Pickens at Pensacola, Florida, following the Florida militia’s surrender demand./1861  

• In South Carolina, Governor Francis Pickens accepts the offer of military support from the Catawba Indians./1861