ment the recession of these forts. This was the substance of what we said. Now, sir, it is my most solemn conviction that there is no attempt going to be made to reenforce these forts."

Resolutions were offered and referred, which proposed a provisional government for the Southern States on the basis of the Constitution of the United States; also to send commissioners to Washington to negotiate for the cession of Federal property within the State, &c.; also, the election of five persons to meet delegates from other States, for the purpose of forming a Confederacy, &c.

On the 20th the committee appointed to draft an ordinance of secession made the following report:

The committee appointed to prepare the draught of an Ordinance proper to be adopted by the Convention in order to effect the secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union, respectfully report: That they have had the matter referred to under consideration, and believing that they would best meet the exigencies of the great occasion, and the just expectations of the Convention by presenting in the fewest and simplest words possible to be used, consistent with perspicuity and all that is necessary to effect the end proposed and no more, and so excluding every thing which, however proper in itself for the action of the Convention, is not a necessary part of the great solemn act of secession, and may at feast be effected by a distinct ordinance or resolution, they submit for the consideration of the Convention

the following proposed draught:

AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the Union between the State of

South Carolina and other States united with her un

der the compact entitled "The Constitution of the United States of America." We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in

Convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance adopted by us in Convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of the State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, and the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of "The United States of America," is hereby

dissolved.

The ordinance was then taken up and immediately passed by the unanimous vote of the Convention. After its passage, the following ordinance was passed to preserve the order of affairs under the altered political relations of

the State:

Be it ordained by the People of South Carolina, by their Delegates in Convention assembled, That, until otherwise provided by the Legislature, the Governor shall be authorized to appoint collectors and other officers connected with the customs, for the ports within the State of South Carolina, and also all the postmasters within the said State; and that until such appointments shall have been made, the persons now charged with the duties of the said several offices shall continue to discharge the same, keeping an ac count of what moneys are received and disbursed by them respectively.

The Convention adjourned to meet at Institate Hall, and in the presence of the Governor, and both branches of the State Legislature, to sign the ordinance of secession.

At the close of the ceremonies the president

of the Convention announced the secession of the State in these words: "The ordinance of secession has been signed and ratified, and I proclaim the State of South Carolina an independent Commonwealth." The ratified ordinance was then given to the Secretary of State to be preserved among its archives, and the assembly dissolved.

On the 21st the committee to prepare an address to the Southern States made a report, reviewing the injuries to South Carolina imputed to her connection with the Federal Union. An ordinance was then adopted which prescribed the following oath, to be taken by all persons elected and appointed to any office:

I do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) that I will be faithful and true allegiance bear to the Constitution of the State of South Carolina, so long as I may continue a citizen of the same; and that I am duly quali ified under the laws of South Carolina, and will discharge the duties thereof to the best of my ability, and will preserve, protect, and defend the Consti tution of this State. So help me God.

In secret session, Messrs. Robert W. Barnwell, J. H. Adams, and James L. Orr, were appointed commissioners to proceed to Washington, to treat for the delivery of the forts, magazines, light-houses, &c., within the limits of the State, also the apportionment of the public debts and a division of all other property held by the Government of the United States, as agent of the confederation of States, of which South Carolina was recently a member, and to negotiate all other arrangements proper to be adopted in the existing relations of the parties.

Active movements immediately commenced for resisting any attempt on the part of the United States to exercise Federal powers within the limits of the State. Rumors that vessels of war had started for Charleston harbor, and that the commissioners to Washington were on their way home, created great excitement in the State, and all thought of peaceable secession was abandoned. A collector for the port of Charleston was nominated to the Senate by President Buchanan, but that body failed to

confirm the nomination.

Meantime, Governor Pickens organized his Cabinet, as follows: Secretary of State, A. G. Secretary of the Treasury, C. G. Memminger; Magrath; Secretary of War, D. F. Jamison; Postmaster-General, W. H. Harlee; Secretary of the Interior, A. C. Gurlington.

On the 31st of December, the State troops, which had been for some time acting as a guard to the arsenal, under orders from the Governor, took full possession, and relieved the United States officer who had been in charge. At halfpast one o'clock on Sunday, the Federal flag was lowered after a salute of thirty-two guns. The State troops were drawn up in order and presented arms. The Palmetto flag was then run up, with a salute of one gun for South Carolina.

The arsenal contained at the time a large amount of arms and other stores. Meanwhile military preparations were actively pushed for

ward, and several volunteer companies from other Southern States tendered their services. Notice was given by the collector at Charleston that the masters of all vessels from ports outside of South Carolina must enter and clear at Charleston. Bank bills were also made receivable for duties.

The flag of the State, adopted by the Legislature, to whom the subject had been referred by the State Convention, consisted of a plain white ground with a green Palmetto tree in the centre, and a white crescent in the left upper corner on a square blue field.

On the 14th of January the Legislature unanimously passed a resolution declaring that any attempt by the Federal Government to reenforce Fort Sumter would be considered as an act of open hostility, and as a declaration of war. At the same time they adopted another resolution, approving the act of the troops who fired on the Star of the West, and also resolved to sustain the Governor in all measures necessary for defence.

The forts in Charleston harbor, occupied by a small garrison of regular troops of the United States, afforded a standing denial of the sovereignty and independence of South Carolina. The first object to be accomplished by the State authorities to secure that respect due to an independent nation, was to obtain possession of these forts. For this object the following correspondence took place:

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Į EXECUTIVE OFFICE, CHARLESTON, Jan. 11, 1861. To Major Robert Anderson, commanding Fort Sumter. SIR: I have thought proper, under all the circumstances of the peculiar state of public affairs in the country at present, to appoint the Hon. A. G. Magrath and Gen. D F. Jamison, both members of the Executive Council, and of the highest position in the State, to present to you considerations of the gravest public character, and of the deepest interest to all who deprecate the improper waste of life, to induce the delivery of Fort Sumter to the constituted authorities of the State of South Carolina, with a pledge, on its part, to account for such public property as is under your charge. Your obedient servant,

F. W. PICKENS.

MAJOR ANDERSON TO GOV. PICKENS.

HEADQUARTERS FORT SUMTER, S. C., January 11, 1861. His Exc'y F. W. Pickens, Governor of S. Carolina. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your demand for the surrender of this fort to the authorities of South Carolina, and to say, in reply, that the demand is one with which I cannot comply, Your Excellency knows that I have recently sent a messenger to Washington, and that it will be impossible for me to receive an answer to my despatches, forwarded by him, at an earlier date than next Monday. What the character of my instructions may be I cannot foresee. Should your Excellency deem fit, prior to a resort to arms, to refer this matter to Wash ington, it would afford me the sincerest pleasure to depute one of my officers to accompany any messenger you may deem proper to be the bearer of your demand. Hoping to God that in this, and all other matters, in which the honor, welfare, and lives of our fellow countrymen are concerned, we shall so act as to meet His approval, and deeply regretting that you have made a demand of me with which I cannot comply, I have the honor to be, with the highest regard, your obedient servant, ROBERT ANDERSON, Major U. S. Army, commanding.

Other States soon followed the example of South Carolina. Of these Florida was foremost. Her Senators in Congress assembled, in secret caucus, with those from other States to devise the plan of action. Prompt measures were also taken by the State authorities to secure success. At an early day a State Convention was called to meet on the 5th of January, to which delegates were at once elected. The Convention assembled at Tallahassee on the day appointed. It consisted of sixty-seven members, one-third of whom were regarded as in favor of coöperation. On the 7th, a resolution declaring the right and duty of Florida to secede was passed ayes, 62; noes, 5.

On the same day the ordinance of secession was passed by a vote of 62 ayes to 7 noes. The following is the ordinance :

Whereas, All hope of preserving the Union upon terms consistent with the safety and honor of the slaveholding States, has been fully dissipated by the recent indications of the strength of the anti-slavery sentiment of the free States; therefore,

assembled, That it is undoubtedly the right of the sev Be it enacted by the people of Florida, in convention eral States of the Union, at such time and for such cause as in the opinion of the people of such States, acting in their sovereign capacity, may be just and proper, to withdraw from the Union, and, in the opinion of this Convention, the existing causes are such as to compel Florida to proceed to exercise this right.

We, the people of the State of Florida, in Convention assembled, do solemnly ordain, publish, and declare that the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the Confederacy of States existing under the name of the United States of America, and from the existing Government of the said States; and that all political connection between her and the Government of said States ought to be, and the same is hereby totally annulled, and said Union of States dissolved; and the State of Florida is hereby declared a sovereign and independent nation; and that all ordinances heretofore adopted, in so far as they create or recognize said Union, are rescinded; and all laws, or parts of laws, in force in this State, in so far as they recognize or assent to said Union, be and they are hereby repealed.

The Convention, at a subsequent date, was addressed by the Commissioner from South Carolina, L. W. Spratt. In his address he admits that, if the Southern people had been left to consult their own interests in the matter, apart from the complications superinduced by have felt it their duty to initiate the movement the action of South Carolina, they would never in which, for reasons partly long conceived and partly fortuitous, she had now, as she thinks, succeeded in involving them.

The other acts of the Convention completed the work commenced by the ordinance of secession. Delegates were appointed to a Confederate Congress, with instructions to coöperate with those from other States in the formation of a Government independent of the United States. A session of the Legislature was held at the same time, in order to pass such measures as would give strength to the executive officers in their new position.

The forts and arsenals of the United States and the U. S. schooner Dana were seized, un

der instructions from the Governor, at the same time those in Alabama were occupied by the troops of that State. At the most important forts, as Pickens, Jefferson, and Taylor, there were such garrisons as were able to defend them. The investment of the former was immediately made by the troops from Florida, with reenforcements from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The navy yard and forts on the mainland at Pensacola were thus occupied, but Pickens defied all the efforts of the besiegers. Mississippi moved next. A session of her Legislature was held at Jackson early in November, 1860, for making the preliminary arrangements for a State Convention. It passed an act calling such Convention on the 7th of January, and fixed the 20th of December as the day upon which an election should be held for members. The measures were passed unanimously. The following resolutions were also adopted unanimously:

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to appoint as many Commissioners as in his judgment may be necessary to visit each of the slaveholding States, and designate the State or States to which each Commissioner shall be commissioned, whose duty it shall be to inform them that this Legislature has passed an act calling a Convention of the people of this State to consider the present threatening relations of the Northern and Southern sections of the Confederacy, aggravated by the recent election of a President upon principles of hostility to the States of the South, and to express the earnest hope of Mississippi that those States will cooperate with her in the adoption of efficient measures for their common defence and safety. Resolved, That, should any Southern State not have convened its Legislature, the Commissioner to such State shall appeal to the Governor thereof to call the Legislature together, in order that its cooperation be immediately secured.

One of the members, Mr. Lamar, advocated separate secession of the State, and recommended that the Senators and Representatives in the Federal Congress from the Southern States should withdraw and form a Congress of a new republic, and appoint electors for President of a Southern Confederacy. The Legislature adjourned on the 30th of November, 1860.

The people of the State were divided on the question of secession. The election of members of the State Convention took place on the 20th of December. The number of members to be elected was ninety-nine. Of these more than one-third were coöperationists. This distinction into cooperationists and secessionists only referred to the manner of proceeding which the State should adopt. The latter advocated immediate and separate secession, the former preferred consultation and cooperation with the other slaveholding States. The ultimate object of each was the same, as expressed in the following language by one of the citizens: "These are household quarrels. As against Northern combination and aggression we are united. We are all for resistance. We differ as to the mode; but the fell spirit of abolitionism has no deadlier and we believe no more practical foes than the cooperationists of the South. We are willing to give the North a chance to say whether

it will accept or reject the terms that a united South will agree upon. If accepted, well and good; if rejected, a united South can win all its rights in or out of the Union."

The State Convention organized on the 7th of January, and immediately appointed a committee to prepare and report an ordinance of secession with a view of establishing a new confederacy to be comprised of the seceded States. The Committee duly reported the following ordinance, and it was adopted on the 9thayes, 84; noes, 15:

The people of Mississippi, in Convention assembled, do ordain and declare, and it is hereby ordained and declared, as follows, to wit:

the said State of Mississippi became a member of the SEC. 1. That all the laws and ordinances by which Federal Union of the United States of America be, and the same are hereby repealed, and that all obliga tions on the part of the said State, or the people thereof, be withdrawn, and that the said State does hereby resume all the rights, functions, and powers which by any of the said laws and ordinances were conveyed to the Government of the said United States, and is absolved from all the obligations, restraints, and duties incurred to the said Federal Union, and shall henceforth be a free, sovereign, and independent State.

SEC. 2. That so much of the first section of the seventh article of the Constitution of this State, as requires members of the Legislature and all officers, both legislative and judicial, to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, be, and the same is hereby abrogated and annulled.

SEC. 3. That all rights acquired and vested under the Constitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof, or any law of this State, and not incompatible with this ordinance, shall remain in force, and have the same effect as if the ordinance had not been passed.

SEC. 4. That the people of the State of Mississippi hereby consent to form a Federal Union with such of the States as have seceded or may secede from the Union of the United States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the United States, except such parts thereof as embrace other portions than such seceding States.

Delegations from South Carolina and Alabama were invited to seats in the Convention, and were greeted with much applause. Efforts were made to postpone action, but these were voted down, and only fifteen voted nay on the final passage of the measure. The vote was subsequently made unanimous. The first aggressive movement was made by Governor Pettus on the 12th of January, when he ordered a piece of artillery to Vicksburg to be used in stopping for examination boats passing on the Mississippi. Movements were at the same time commenced to complete the organization of the militia of the State. Judge Gholson, of the United States Court, resigned. South Carolina was recognized by the Convention as sovereign and independent, and steps were taken to cut asunder every tie to the United States, excepting the postal arrangements. The subsequent movements were reported to the Legislature by the Governor in a Message on the 15th of January. He says:

"As soon as I was informed that the Governor of Louisiana had taken the arsenal at Baton Rouge, I sent Col. C. G. Armstead with

a letter to Gov. Moore, requesting him to furnish Mississippi with ten thousand stand of arms on such terms as he might deem just. Col. Armstead informs me that his Excellency has responded to my request by ordering eight thousand muskets, one thousand rifles, and six twenty-four pound guns, with carriages, and a considerable amount of ammunition, to be delivered to him, which will be shipped to Mississippi as soon as possible."

Alabama soon followed. The southern portion of the State was strongly in favor of secession. Early in December, 1860, commissioners were sent to the authorities and people of the other slaveholding States, to urge forward a movement in favor of secession, and a union of these States in a separate Confederacy. All represented that the purpose of Alabama was fixed to secede, even if no other State did. The announcement of the secession of South Carolina was hailed with great joy in Mobile. One hundred guns were fired. Bells were rung. The streets were crowded by hundreds expressing their joy, and many impromptu speeches were made. A military parade ensued.

The first official movement in Alabama toward secession was the announcement by Governor Moore of his intention to order an election of Delegates to a State Convention. He advised the people to prepare for secession. This election was held on the 24th of December, 1860, and the Convention subsequently assembled on January 7th. At the election, the counties in North Alabama selected "coöperation" members. The members throughout the State were classed as immediate secessionists, and cooperationists. The coöperationists were divided into those who were for secession in cooperation with other cotton States, those who required the cooperation of a majority, and those who required the cooperation of all the slave States. Montgomery County, which polled 2,719 votes on the Presidential election, now gave less than 1,200 votes. The inference drawn from this at the time was, that the county was largely in favor of conservative action. The vote reported from all but ten counties of the State was: for secession, 24,445; for cooperation, 33,685. Of the ten counties, some were for secession, others for cooper

ation.

The Convention met at Montgomery on the 7th of January. All the counties of the State were represented. Wm. M. Brooks was chosen President. A strong Union sentiment was soon found to exist in the Convention. On the day on which it assembled, the Representatives from the State in Washington met, and resolved to telegraph to the Convention, advising immediate secession, stating that in their opinion there was no prospect of a satisfactory adjustment.

On the 9th the following resolutions were offered and referred to a committee of thirteen: Resolved, That separate State action would be unwise and impolitic.

Resolved, That Alabama should invite the Southern States to hold a Convention as early as practicable, and the manner of obtaining redress, whether in the to consider and agree upon a statement of grievances Union or in independence out of it.

Mr. Baker, of Russell, offered a resolution requesting the Governor to furnish information of the number of arms, their character and description, and the number of military companies, etc., in the State, which was adopted. Also the following was offered and discussed:

Resolved, by the people of Alabama, That all the Powers of this State are hereby pledged to resist any attempt on the part of the Federal Government to coerce any seceding State.

After a lively discussion of some days, a brief preamble and resolution refusing to submit to the Republican Administration, were proposed in such a form as to command the unanimous vote of the Convention. It was in these words: States is the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas the only bond of union between the several whereas that Constitution has been violated by a majority of the Northern States in their separate legislative action, denying to the people of the Southern States their constitutional rights; and whereas a sectional party, known as the Republican party, has, in a recent election, elected Abraham Lincoln for President and Hannibal Hamlin for Vice-President of these United States, upon the avowed principle that the Constitution of the United States does not recognize property in slaves, and that the Government should the United States, and that the power of the Governprevent its extension into the common territories of ment should be so exercised that slavery should in time be extinguished: Therefore be it

Resolved by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled, That the State of Alabama will not submit to dent and Vice-President of the United States, upon the Administration of Lincoln and Hamlin, as Presithe principles referred to in the foregoing preamble.

On the 10th, the ordinance of secession was

reported, and on the 11th it was adopted in secret session by a vote of ayes, 61; noes, 39. It was as follows:

AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the Union between the State of

Alabama and other States united under the compact styled" The Constitution of the United States of America,"

Whereas the election of Abraham Lincoln and Han

nibal Hamlin to the offices of President and VicePresident of the United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous infractions of the Constitution of the United States by many of the States and people of the Northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting and menacing a character as to justify the people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and security: Therefore,

Be it declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in convention assembled, That the State of Alabama now withdraws, and is hereby withdrawn, from the Union known as "the United States of America," and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States, and is, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and independent State.

SEC. 2. Be it further declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in convention assembled, That all the powers over the territory of said State, and over the people thereof, heretofore delegated to the Government of the United States of America, be and they are hereby withdrawn from said Govern

ment, and are hereby resumed and vested in the people of the State of Alabama.

And as it is the desire and purpose of the State of Alabama to meet the slaveholding States of the South who may approve such purpose, in order to frame a provisional as well as permanent government, upon the principles of the Constitution of the United States, Be it reired by the people of Alabama in convention assembled, That the people of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, be, and are bereby, invited to meet the people of the State of

Alabama, by their delegates, in convention, on the 4th day of February, A. D. 1861, at the city of Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, for the purpose of consulting with each other as to the most effectual mode of securing concerted and harmonious action in what ever measures may be deemed most desirable for our common peace and security.

And be it further resolved, That the president of this Convention be, and is hereby, instructed to transmit forthwith a copy of the foregoing preamble, ordinance, and resolutions, to the Governors of the sev

eral States named in said resolutions.

Done by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, at Montgomery, on this, the 11th day of January, A. D. 1861.

WM. M. BROOKS, President of the Convention. A majority and minority report were presented on the ordinance of secession. Trouble arose in the Convention, because a portion of the members desired that the ordinance should not take effect until the 4th of March. A number refused to sign it for this reason; and as late as the 17th of January, a despatch was sent to the Senators and Representatives of the State in Congress at Washington, to retain their seats until further advised.

A proposition was also made in the Convention to submit their action to the people, for ratification or rejection. This was refused, and an exciting scene ensued.

Nicholas Davis, of Huntsville, declared his belief that the people of North Alabama would never abide the action of that Convention, if denied the right of voting upon it. Mr. Yancey thereupon denounced the people of North Alabama as tories, traitors, and rebels, and said they ought to be coerced into a submission to the decree of the Convention. Mr. Davis replied that they might attempt coercion, but North Alabama would meet them upon the line and decide the issue at the point of the bayonet.

The ordinance was adopted about two o'clock in the afternoon. Subsequently in the afternoon an immense mass meeting was held in front of the Capitol, and many cooperation delegates pledged their constituents to sustain secession. A flag which had been presented by the ladies of the city to the Convention, was then raised over the building, amid the ringing of bells and firing of cannon.

In Mobile the news was received at once, and the day became one of the wildest excitement. The people were at the highest point of enthusiasm until a late hour at night. To add to the excitement, news was received that the State of Florida had passed a secession ordinance.

Immediately on the receipt of the news, an immense crowd assembled at the "secession pole " at the foot of Government Street, to witness the spreading of the Southern flag, and it was run up amid the shouts of the multitude and thunders of cannon. One hundred and one guns for Alabama and fifteen for Florida were fired, and after remarks from gentlemen, the crowd repaired to the Custom-House, walking in procession with a band of music at the head, playing the warlike notes of the "Southern Marseillaise."

Arrived at the Custom-House, a lone star flag was waved from its walls amid enthusiastic shouts. The balcony of the Battle House, opposite, was thronged with ladies and gentlemen, and the street was crowded with excited cit izens. Standing upon the steps of the CustomHouse, brief and stirring addresses were delivered by several speakers.

The military paraded the streets. The Cadets were out in force, bearing a splendid flag which had been presented to them a day previous, and, with the Independent Rifles, marched to the public square, and fired salvos of artillery. The demonstration at night was designed to correspond to the importance attached by the people to the event celebrated. An eye-witness declares the display to have been of the most brilliant description. When night fell, the city emerged from darkness into a blaze of such glory as could only be achieved by the most recklessly extravagant consumption of tar and tallow. The broad boulevard of Government street was an avenue of light, bonfires of tar barrels being kindled at intervals of a square in distance along its length, and many houses were illuminated. Royal Street shone with light, the great front of the buildings presenting a perfect illumination. Rockets blazed, crackers popped, and the people hurrahed and shouted as they never did before. The "Southern Cross was the most favored emblematic design in the illumination, and competed with the oft-repeated Lone Star' for admiration and applause from the multitude."

By previous concert with the Governors of Georgia and Louisiana, "all the positions in these three States which might be made to follow the fashion set by Fort Sumter" were seized. The arsenal at Mt. Vernon, forty-five miles above Mobile, was seized at daylight on the morning of January 14th; Fort Morgan was taken on the same day, without opposition. Previously, however, and on the 9th of January, five companies of volunteers, at the request of the Governor of Florida, left Montgomery for Pensacola. They were sent to assist in capturing the forts and other property there belonging to the United States. In order to place the city of Mobile in a better state of defence, the Mayor issued a call to the people for a thousand laborers. These were at once supplied, and also money sufficient to meet all demands. The Common Council of the city passed an ordinance changing the names of