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| R.E. Lee's resignation from the US Army |
- Robert E. Lee resigns his commission, only a few weeks old, as Colonel of the United States Army, showing his loyalty to and love for his gallant State of Virginia and his beloved Southland./1861
- President Jefferson Davis, in his Post Sumter Address to Congress today, says: "All we want is to be left alone."/1861
- In a move to prevent naval property from falling into the hands of the Confederacy, Federal troops under orders from Commandant Charles S. McCauley scuttle ships and set fire to the Federal Gosport Naval Yard and evacuate Norfolk, Virginia, hauling out the U.S.S. Cumberland. McCauley’s instructions are to destroy what could not be saved, which results in several ships being burnt at their moorings. One of them is the USS Merrimac. She is partly burned, then sunk. She will rise again, under as the ironclad CSS Virginia. McCauley’s action angers Union officials because it makes more difficult the implementation of the naval blockade./1861
- President Lincoln issues a military order for regiments coming to Washington to bypass Baltimore, Maryland, because of the civil unrest there as Federal troops begin to pour into the Washington, D.C., region. In Maryland, Confederate sympathizers destroy several railroad bridges on the Northern Pennsylvania Railroad to prevent the passage of troops to Washington as well as wires and tracks in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The 4th Mass. Regiment commanded by Brig. Gen. Ebenezer W. Pierce arrives at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, to protect Washington from attack, since it is only accessible by water now as the rail line from Harper’s Ferry, Virginia is controlled by Virginia troops and Maryland secessionists have burned the railroad bridges from Baltimore. General Butler's command arrives at Annapolis, Maryland./1861
- Confederate sympathizers in Missouri seize the United States arsenal at Liberty, Missouri./1861
- A secession meeting attended by several local militia companies and a large number of county residents in the town of Guyandotte (now West Virginia), an island of secessionism in far western Virginia near Ohio, calls for the state to approve the secession actions of the Virginia legislature and secession convention. A newly sewn state flag was raised by two of the town's oldest citizens "amid the enthusiastic applause of the multitude and the rejoicing of the ladies, a large number of whom were present." One of many speeches given that day was interrupted by the arrival of a steamer, which brought the official news of Virginia's break with the Union. The already upbeat mood turned jubilant, and salutes were fired to the Confederacy and to President Jefferson Davis. Albert Jenkins, who had given up his congressional seat, arrived and led some of the volunteer companies to his farm at Greenbottom, where they began drilling in preparation for war. Known as the Border Rangers, these local men soon joined a Confederate force at Camp Tompkins in the Kanawha Valley./1861
Gods and Generals - I Will Not Lead Them
Tags: Gods and Generals - I Will Not Lead Them
Tags: Gods and Generals - I Will Not Lead Them
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