Notable Historical Events - 1861
1861 Historical Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
Jan 1 |
Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City |
Jan 1 |
President-elect of the United States Abraham Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful (US Civil War) |
Jan 2 |
SC seizes inactive Ft Johnson in Charleston Harbor |
Jan 2 |
Colonel Charles Stone is put in charge of organizing DC militia |
Jan 3 |
Delaware legislature rejects proposal to join Confederacy |
Jan 3 |
US Ft Pulaski & Ft Jackson, Savannah, seized by Georgia |
Jan 4 |
Pres Buchanan appoints a fast on account of threatened succession |
Jan 4 |
US Ft Morgan, Mobile, seized by Alabama |
Jan 5 |
250 Federal troops are sent from New York to Ft Sumter |
Jan 5 |
Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan & Gaines at Mobile Bay |
Jan 6 |
Florida troops seize Federal arsenal at Apalachicola |
Jan 6 |
NYC mayor proposes NY become a free city, trading with N & S |
Jan 7 |
Florida troops takeover Fort Marion at St Augustine (US Civil War) |
Jan 9 |
A Union merchant ship, the Star of the West, is fired upon as it tries to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina |
Jan 9 |
Mississippi secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 10 |
Fort Jackson & Fort Philip are taken over by LA state troops (US Civil War) |
Jan 10 |
US forts & property seized by Mississippi |
Jan 10 |
Florida secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 11 |
Mexico City captured by Juarez (Lib) in War of Reform |
Jan 11 |
Alabama secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 12 |
Florida state troops demand surrender of Fort Pickens (US Civil War) |
Jan 14 |
Fort Pikens, Florida, falls into state hands (US Civil War) |
Jan 15 |
Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis |
Jan 17 |
Flush toilet patented by Mr Thomas Crapper |
Jan 19 |
Misssissippi troops take Fort Massachusetts and Ship Island (US Civil War) |
Jan 19 |
Georgia secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 21 |
Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and 4 other southern senators resign (U.S Civil War) |
Jan 24 |
Arsenal at Augusta, Ga seized by Confederacy |
Jan 24 |
Federal troops from Ft Monroe are sent to Ft Pikens |
Jan 26 |
Louisiana secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 29 |
Kansas secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Jan 31 |
Friedrich Hebbel's "Siegfrieds Tod," premieres in Weimar |
Jan 31 |
State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans (U.S Civil War) |
Feb 1 |
Dike breaks in Gelderland, Netherlands |
Feb 1 |
Texas secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Feb 4 |
Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time; Jefferson Davis elected president of Confederacy (US Civil War) |
Feb 5 |
Kinematoscope patented by Coleman Sellers, Phila |
Feb 5 |
Louisiana delegation except Mr Bouligny withdraws from Congress (US Civil War) |
Feb 6 |
1st meeting of Provisional Congress of Confederate States of America (US Civil War) |
Feb 6 |
British Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy issues first storm warnings for ships |
Feb 8 |
Confederate States of America organizes in Montgomery, Alabama (US Civil War) |
Feb 9 |
Jefferson Davis & Alexander Stephens elected president & VP of the Confederate States of America (US Civil War) |
Feb 9 |
Tennessee votes against secession (US Civil War) |
Feb 9 |
Confederate Provisional Congress declares all laws under the US Constitution were consistent with constitution of Confederate states (US Civil War) |
Feb 11 |
President-elect Lincoln takes train from Spingfield IL to Washington DC |
Feb 11 |
US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state |
Feb 12 |
State troops seize US munitions in Napoleon, AK (US Civil War) |
Feb 13 |
1st military action to result in Congressional Medal of Honor, AZ |
Feb 13 |
Abraham Lincoln declared president in Washington DC |
Feb 13 |
Col Bernard Irwin attacks & defeats hostile Chiricahua Indians |
Feb 15 |
Ft Point completed & garrisoned (but has never fired cannon in anger) |
Feb 18 |
Confederate President Jefferson Davis inaugurated at Montgomery Alabama (US Civil War) |
Feb 18 |
King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes 1st King of Italy |
Feb 19 |
Russian Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom [NS=Mar 3] |
Feb 20 |
Department of Navy of Confederacy forms (US Civil War) |
Feb 20 |
Steeple of Chichester Cathedral blown down during a storm |
Feb 21 |
Navaho indians elect Herrero Grande as chief |
Feb 22 |
On a bet Edward Weston leaves Boston to walk to Lincoln's inauguration |
Feb 23 |
Dutch Premier Floris A van Hall resigns |
Feb 27 |
Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland in Castle Square, Warsaw |
Feb 27 |
US Congress authorizes 1st stamped newspaper wrappers for mailing |
Feb 28 |
Territories of Nevada & Colorado created |
Mar 2 |
Government Printing Office purchases 1st printing plant, Washington |
Mar 2 |
US creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah ter |
Mar 3 |
Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs [OS=Feb 19]. |
Mar 4 |
Confederate States adopt "Stars & Bars" flag (US Civil War) |
Mar 4 |
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as 16th US President |
Mar 4 |
US President Lincoln opens government Printing Office |
Mar 6 |
Provisionary Confederate Congress establishes Confederate Army |
Mar 8 |
St Augustine Florida surrenders to Union armies |
Mar 9 |
Confederate currency authorized-$50, $100, $500, $1,000 |
Mar 10 |
El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Segou, destroying the Bambara Empire of Mali. |
Mar 11 |
Confederate convention in Montgomery adopts constitution (US Civil War) |
Mar 16 |
Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union (US Civil War) |
Mar 16 |
Confederate government appoints commissioners to Britain |
Mar 16 |
Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy (US Civil War) |
Mar 17 |
Italy declares independence; Kingdom of Italy proclaimed |
Mar 19 |
The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand |
Mar 20 |
An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina. |
Mar 22 |
1st US nursing school chartered |
Mar 23 |
London's 1st tramcars, designed by Mr Train of NY, begins operating |
Mar 31 |
Confederacy takes over mint at New Orleans (US Civil War) |
Apr 5 |
Federals abandon Ft Quitman, Texas |
Apr 8 |
US mint at Dahlonega, Georgia, seized by confederacy (US Civil War) |
Apr 12 |
Fort Sumter, SC is shelled by Confederacy, starting Civil War |
Apr 13 |
After 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederates (US Civil War) |
Apr 14 |
Formal Union surrender of Ft Sumter (US Civil War) |
Apr 15 |
Federal army (75,000 volunteers) mobilized by US President Lincoln (US Civil War) |
Apr 16 |
US president Lincoln outlaws business with confederate states (US Civil War) |
Apr 17 |
Indianola TX - "Star of West" taken by Confederacy |
Apr 17 |
Virginia secedes from the Union (US Civil War) |
Apr 18 |
Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, part of the Maryland Campaign (US Civil War) |
Apr 18 |
Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down offer to command Union armies (US Civil War) |
Apr 19 |
Baltimore riots-4 soldiers, 9 civilians killed |
Apr 19 |
Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War) |
Apr 20 |
Battle of Norfolk, VA |
Apr 23 |
Robert E. Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War) |
Apr 23 |
Arkansas troops seize Ft Smith |
Apr 25 |
Battle of Lavaca, Texas (US Civil War) |
Apr 25 |
The Union Army arrives to reinforce Washington, D.C. (US Civil War) |
Apr 27 |
President A Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus (US Civil War) |
Apr 27 |
West Virginia secedes from Virginia after Virginia secedes from Union (US Civil War) |
Apr 29 |
Maryland's House of Delegates votes against seceding from Union (US Civil War) |
Apr 30 |
President Lincoln ordered Federal Troops to evacuate Indian Territory (US Civil War) |
May 1 |
Lee orders Confederate troops under T J Jackson to Harper's Ferry |
May 3 |
Gen Winfield Scott presents his Anaconda Plan for the North against the South in American Civil War |
May 3 |
Lincoln asks for 42,000 Army Volunteers & another 18,000 seamen |
May 4 |
At Gretna LA, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast |
May 5 |
Alexandria, VA - CS troops abandon city |
May 6 |
Arkansas & Tennessee becomes 9th & 10th states to secede from US |
May 6 |
Jefferson Davis approves a bill declaring War between US & Confederacy |
May 7 |
Riot occurs between prosecessionist & Union supporters in Knoxville TN |
May 8 |
Richmond, Va, is named the capital of the Confederacy |
May 10 |
Union troops march on state militia in St Louis, MI |
May 13 |
Queen Victoria announces Britain's position of neutrality |
May 13 |
The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia. |
May 14 |
The Canellas meteorite, an 859-gram chondrite-type meteorite, strikes the earth near Barcelona, Spain. |
May 16 |
Twiggs Surrender, San Antonio, Texas during US Civil war |
May 16 |
Confederate government offers war volunteers $10 premium |
May 16 |
Kentucky proclaims its neutrality |
May 18 |
Battle of Sewall's Point VA-1st Federal offense against South |
May 18 |
Friedrich Hebbel's "Kriemhildes Rache" premieres in Weimar |
May 20 |
Cornerstone of University of Washington laid in Seattle |
May 20 |
Kentucky proclaims its neutrality in Civil War |
May 20 |
North Carolina becomes 11th & last state to secede from Union |
May 20 |
US marshals appropriate previous year's telegraph dispatches, to reveal prosecessionist evidence |
May 21 |
Richmond, Va, is designated Confederate Capital |
May 23 |
3 fleeing slaves enter Fort Monroe Virginia |
May 23 |
Virginia citizens vote 3 to 1 in favor of secession from the Union |
May 24 |
Alexandria, VA occupied by Federal troops |
May 24 |
Maj Gen Benjamin Butler declares slaves "contraband of war" |
May 25 |
John Merryman is arrested under suspension of writ of habeas corpus it later sparks a supreme court decision protecting writ |
May 26 |
US Postmaster General Blair announces end of postal connection with South |
May 26 |
Union blockades New Orleans LA & Mobile AL |
May 29 |
Dorothea Dix offers help in setting up hospitals for Union Army |
May 31 |
Gen Beauregard is given command of Confederate Alexandria Line |
May 31 |
Mint at New Orleans closes |
Jun 1 |
1st skirmish in Civil War, Fairfax Court House, Va |
Jun 1 |
British territorial waters & ports off-limits during Civil War |
Jun 1 |
Skirmish at Arlington Mills, VA |
Jun 1 |
US & Confederacy simultaneously stop mail interchange |
Jun 3 |
1st Civil War land battle-Union defeats Confederacy at Philippi, WV |
Jun 5 |
Federal marshals seize arms & gunpower at Du Pont works DE |
Jun 6 |
Lincoln's cabinet declares Union government will pay for expenses once states have mobilized volunteers |
Jun 8 |
US Sanitary Commission is given executive approval |
Jun 8 |
American Civil War: Tennessee votes to secede from the Union. |
Jun 10 |
Battle of Big Bethel VA (Bethel Church, Great Bethal)-Union retreats |
Jun 12 |
Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson calls for 50,000 volunteers to stop Federates from taking over his state |
Jun 14 |
Harpers Ferry evacuated by rebels in face of General George McClellan's advance |
Jun 15 |
Johnston evacuates Harpers Ferry |
Jun 16 |
Battle of Vienna, VA & Secessionville, SC (James Island) |
Jun 17 |
Battle of Boonville, MI-Brigadier General Lyon defeats Confederate forces |
Jun 19 |
Anaheim Post Office established |
Jun 19 |
Francis Pierpont is elected provisional governor of West Virginia |
Jun 24 |
Battle of Mathias Point, VA-US attacks Confederate batteries |
Jun 24 |
Tennessee becomes 11th (& last) state to secede from Union |
Jun 25 |
Western Virginia campaign |
Jun 28 |
Leipzig Observatory discovers short-period (6.2 yrs) Comet d'Arrest |
Jun 30 |
CSS Sumter slips past USS Brooklyn blockade |
Jul 1 |
1st public schoolhouse opens at Washington & Mason St, SF |
Jul 1 |
War Dept decrees that Kansas and Tennessee are to be canvassed for volunteers |
Jul 2 |
Battle of Hoke's Run, WV - small Union victory |
Jul 3 |
Colonel Jackson receives his commission as brigadier general |
Jul 3 |
Pony Express arrives in SF with overland letters from NY |
Jul 3 |
Martinsburg, VA - Confederate forces pull out before US advance |
Jul 4 |
In a special session of 27th Congress Lincoln requests 400,000 troops |
Jul 4 |
Skirmish at Harper's Ferry, WV |
Jul 5 |
Battle of Carthage, MO - US Gen Sigel attacks pro-secessionist |
Jul 7 |
Battle of Laurel Hill, VA |
Jul 8 |
CS Gen Sibley is given command of rebel troops in NM territory |
Jul 8 |
Skirmish at Florida, MI - A rebel encampment is attacked & dispersed |
Jul 10 |
Lincoln writes to Kentucky's militia & says Union troops will not enter that state |
Jul 11 |
Battle of Laurel Mountain VA - Gen Morris forces retreat of rebels |
Jul 11 |
Battle of Rich Mountain, VA - Rosecrans forces rebels to surrender |
Jul 13 |
Battle of Corrick's Ford, VA (Carrick's Ford) - Union army takes total control of western Virginia CS20 US53 |
Jul 14 |
Gen McDowell advances toward Fairfax Courthouse, VA with 40,000 troops |
Jul 14 |
Naval Engagement at Wilmington NC - USS Daylight establishes blockade |
Jul 16 |
Battle of Bull Run, the 1st major battle of the Civil War, is fought |
Jul 16 |
Manassas Campaign [->JUL 22] |
Jul 17 |
US Congress authorizes paper money |
Jul 17 |
Manassas, VA Gen Beauregard requests reinforcements for his 22,000 men, Gen Johnston is ordered to Manassas |
Jul 18 |
Battle of Blackburn's Ford, VA US57 CS68 - Manassas - |
Jul 20 |
Confederate states' congress began holding sessions in Richmond, Va |
Jul 21 |
1st major battle of Civil War ends (Bull Run), Va - South wins |
Jul 24 |
Skirmish at Taylor Mountain, (W)VA - CS Gen Wise retreats |
Jul 25 |
Washington DC - Crittenden resolution is passed stating that the war is to be fought to preserve union & uphold the Constitution, not to alter slavery |
Jul 25 |
Skirmish at Fort Fillmore, NM Terr - Rebels attack Union troops |
Jul 27 |
Battle of Mathias Point, VA - Rebel forces repel a Federal landing |
Jul 27 |
Battle of St Augustine Springs, NM Terr |
Jul 27 |
Confederate troops occupy Fort Fillmore, New Mexico |
Jul 27 |
Union General George McClellan takes command from McDowell of Potamic Army |
Jul 31 |
9,300 mm rainfall in July in Cherrapunji, Assam: world record |
Aug 1 |
Brazil recognizes Confederacy |
Aug 2 |
Skirmish at Dug Springs, MI |
Aug 3 |
Federal fleet bombards Galveston, Texas |
Aug 5 |
Enlistment increases from 3 months to 2 years |
Aug 5 |
Naval Engagement at Fernandina, FL-USS Vincennes ends rebel blockade |
Aug 5 |
US Army abolishes flogging |
Aug 5 |
US levies its 1st Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800) |
Aug 6 |
US Congress passes First Confiscation Act |
Aug 6 |
Lexington, Kentucky - Union military camp forms in neutral state |
Aug 6 |
The British annex Lagos, Nigeria. |
Aug 10 |
Battle of Wilson's Creek (Oak Hills) Missouri during US Civil War - General Lyon killed |
Aug 12 |
Skirmish at Texas - rebels are attacked by Apache Indians |
Aug 14 |
79th NY troops mutinies |
Aug 14 |
Martial Law is declared at St Louis, Missouri due to pro-secession sentiment which surged throughout Missouri after the Battle of Wilson's Creek |
Aug 15 |
Lincoln directs reinforcements to be sent to MO |
Aug 16 |
Pres Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy |
Aug 16 |
Skirmishes at Fredericktown/Kirkville, Missouri |
Aug 19 |
Confederacy Congress allies with government of MO |
Aug 20 |
Skirmish at Jonesboro, MO |
Aug 27 |
Battle of Cape Hatteras SC-Union troops take Ft Clark |
Aug 28 |
Battle of Fort Hatteras,NC |
Aug 29 |
American Civil War: US Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. |
Aug 30 |
John Fremont issues proclamation freeing slaves of Missouri rebels |
Sep 1 |
Grant assumes command of Federal forces at Cape Girardeau MI |
Sep 1 |
Skirmishes at Boone Court House WV & Blue Creek WV |
Sep 3 |
Confederate forces enter Kentucky, thus ending its neutrality |
Sep 6 |
General Ulysses S. Grant occupies Paducah Kentucky |
Sep 9 |
Nurse Sally Tompkins is officially commissioned as an officer (and its only woman officer) by the Confederate US Army |
Sep 10 |
-15] Battle at Cheat Mountain, Elkwater West Virginia |
Sep 10 |
Battle of Carnifex Ferry VA, 170 casualities |
Sep 13 |
1st naval battle of Civil War, Union frigate "Colorado" sinks privateer "Judah" off Pensacola, Fla |
Sep 16 |
Battle of Princeton WV |
Sep 16 |
British Post Office Savings Banks opens |
Sep 17 |
First class for escaped slaves taught by Mary Peake at Fortress Monroe Virginia (now Hampton University). |
Sep 20 |
Battle of Lexington, MI-captured by Union |
Sep 22 |
Fort Fauntleroy (Wingate), rapes Navaho Indians |
Sep 25 |
Secretary of US Navy authorizes enlistment of slaves |
Sep 26 |
2nd British Golf Open: Tom Morris Sr shoots a 163 at Prestwick Club |
Oct 2 |
Former US VP John C Breckinridge flees Kentucky |
Oct 6 |
Naval Engagement at Charleston, SC USS Flag vs BR Alert |
Oct 6 |
Revolt of Russian student shuts down university of Petersburg |
Oct 11 |
Battle of Dumfries, VA (Quantico Creek) |
Oct 12 |
Confederate ironclad Manassas attack Union's Richmond on Mississippi |
Oct 16 |
Confederacy starts selling postage stamps |
Oct 21 |
Battle of Balls Bluff, VA (Leesburg, Harrison's Island) |
Oct 22 |
1st telegraph line linking West & East coasts completed |
Oct 24 |
First US transcontinental telegram is sent (from San Francisco to Washington DC) |
Oct 24 |
West Virginia seceded from Virginia |
Oct 25 |
First Battle of Springfield in Missouri during US Civil War, Union victory |
Oct 25 |
Telegraph message sent from St Louis to SF |
Oct 25 |
The Toronto Stock Exchange created. |
Oct 26 |
Pony Express ends |
Nov 1 |
General George McClellan made general in chief of Union armies |
Nov 2 |
American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter. |
Nov 4 |
University of Washington founded in Seattle |
Nov 6 |
Jefferson Davis elected to 6 year term as Confederate president |
Nov 7 |
Battle of Belmont, MO |
Nov 7 |
Battle of Port Royal Bay, SC (Ft Walker, Ft Beauregard) |
Nov 8 |
Battle of Mount Ivy, KY |
Nov 8 |
US removes Confederate officials from British steamer Trent |
Nov 9 |
1st documented Canadian football game (at U of Toronto) |
Nov 9 |
Battle of Piketon, Ky |
Nov 19 |
Julia Ward Howe committed "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to paper |
Nov 19 |
The first petroleum shipment (1,329 barrels) from the U.S. to Europe leaves Philadelphia, USA, for London, England on the Elizabeth Watts |
Nov 20 |
Secession ordinance is filed by Kentucky's Confederate government. |
Nov 22 |
Battle of Ft McRee, FL |
Nov 24 |
Luik-Visé-Maastricht railway opens |
Nov 26 |
West Virginia created as a result of dispute over slavery with Virginia |
Nov 28 |
Confederate congress officially admits Missouri to Confederacy |
Nov 30 |
Harper's Weekly publishes EE Beers' "All quiet along the Potomac" |
Dec 9 |
Battle of Bird Creek, Indian Terr (High Shoal, Chusto-Talasah) |
Dec 9 |
American Civil War: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War is established by the U.S. Congress. |
Dec 13 |
Battle of Alleghany Summit, WV |
Dec 19 |
Battle of Black Water (American Civil War) |
Dec 20 |
Battle of Dranesville, VA |
Dec 30 |
US, banks stops payments in gold |
Dec 31 |
22,990mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in India in 1861, a world record |
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