Jefferson Davis inaugurated

Inauguration of Jefferson Davis at Montgomery

• His Excellency, Jefferson Davis, is inaugurated Provisional President of the Confederate States of America today. In his Inaugural Address, he points to “the American idea that governments rest on the consent of the governed.” While making it clear he wants to avoid armed conflict, he also leaves little doubt as to his dedication to the Southern position: "We have entered upon the career of independence, and it must be inflexibly pursued. Through many controversies with our late associates of the Northern States, we have vainly endeavored to secure tranquility and obtain respect for the rights to which we were entitled. As a necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy of separation, and henceforth our energies must be directed to the conduct of our own affairs and the perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have formed. With a Constitution differing only from that of our fathers insofar as it is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed from sectional conflicts, which have interfered with the pursuit of the general welfare, it is not unreasonable to expect that States from which we have separated may seek to unite their fortunes to ours under the government which we have instituted. For this your Constitution makes adequate provision, but beyond this, if I mistake not the judgment and will of the people, a reunion with the States from which we have separated is neither practicable nor desireable." /1861 

• President-elect Lincoln, on his way to his inauguration in Washington, travels by train from Buffalo to Albany, New York, in a snowstorm. Making many stops along the way in such weather, Lincoln becomes very hoarse addressing the crowds. During one of the by-now-common cannon salvos, one shot is recklessly fired point blank at the train, covering some travelers with shattered glass. In a speech after arriving in Albany, Lincoln with glowing pride declares himself “the humblest of all individuals that have been elevated to the presidency.” Rivalry between the New York governor and members of the legislature hampers the visit and makes Lincoln declare he hopes never to return to the city./1861

• In San Antonio, Texas, US Army commander, Brevet-Major General D.E. Twiggs orders all U.S. military forces in Texas to evacuate their garrisons and make their way out of Texas by way of the coast according to the surrender terms./1861

Star marking the place Davis stood Feb 18, 1861

Davis Statue in Montgomery

Alabama Capitol with Davis Statue