B. Scott Maddrea Deputy Clerk, Committee Operations Virginia House of Delegates Scott Maddrea was appointed Deputy Clerk, Committee Operations, for the Virginia House of Delegates in January 2000. Scott first began working with the Virginia General Assembly in January 1986 and has served in many capacities within the legislative environment since. Scott received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond in 1987, and his M.A. in Military Studies from American Military University in 2005. He is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute (2000) and the Legislative Staff Management Institute (LSMI, 2002). He is a member of the Research and Committee Staff Section (RACSS) of NCSL and an associate member of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries (ASLCS). In addition to his legislative responsibilities, Scott is a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves and currently serves as a military historian and Deputy Director of Instruction for the Command and General Staff College.

What is a timeline for Virginia's response to Lincoln's election and the secession crisis, culminating in Virginia seceding from the Union to become the capitol of the Confederacy?

- J. Adams

Secession Timeline

November 1860	Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States
November 7, 1860	94 members of the Virginia General Assembly petition Governor John Letcher to call a special session to consider the “crisis” produced by Lincoln’s election
November 15, 1860	Gov. Letcher issues the call for a special session
December 20, 1860	South Carolina secedes
January 7, 1861	Special Session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes in Richmond. Governor Letcher addresses a joint session.
January 9, 1861	Mississippi secedes
January 10, 1861	Florida secedes
January 11, 1861	Alabama secedes
January 14, 1861	General Assembly authorizes election of delegates to a state convention to determine Virginia’s course; unanimously adopted a resolution denying the right of the federal government to use force against a state; and, by majority vote, asserted that Virginia should join the Cotton States in secession if reconciliation failed.
January 19, 1861	General Assembly calls for a Peace Conference in Washington on February 4th Georgia secedes
January 26, 1861	Louisiana secedes
Late January	General Assembly appropriates $1 million for defense of the Commonwealth - $800,000 for the purchase of arms and ammunition; $200,000 for river and coastal defense.
February 1, 1861	Texas secedes
February 4, 1861	Peace Conference convenes in Washington with only 21 states represented (the six cotton states and seven Midwestern/western states refuse to send delegations) Date of the election of 152 delegates1 to the State (Secession) Convention
February 13, 1860	State (Secession) Convention convenes in Richmond.
February 17, 1860 (approx)	State (Secession) Convention hears appeals from representatives of Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi
February 28, 1861	Former President John Tyler presents the recommendations of the Peace Conference to Congress
March 4, 1860	President Lincoln delivers First Inaugral Address
March 9, 1860	Federal Relations Committee of the State Convention makes preliminary report – a total of 14 recommendations. The key resolutions affirmed the institution of slavery; upheld the sovereignty of states’ rights; called for a meeting in May of the eight border states to discuss common interests; and urging Congress to pass a new, more effective fugitive slave law
March 15, 1860	Federal Relations Committee of the State Convention makes its full report.
April 1, 1860	General Assembly orders the governor to block the shipment of arms from the Bellona Arsenal (in Midlothian) to Fortress Monroe. 2 A “test-vote” on the question of submitting an ordinance of secession to the people of Virginia at the regular May election fails by only 3 votes.
April 4, 1861	State Convention votes (for the first time) on a motion calling for the prompt secession of Virginia. The first formal vote on secession fails 45-88.
April 12, 1861	Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C. State Convention approves the 14th and final resolution of the Federal Relations Committee
April 13, 1861	Delegation from State Convention consisting of A.H.H. Stuart of Staunton, George Wythe Randolph of Richmond and William Ballard Preston of Montgomery County meet with President Lincoln in Washington. State Convention receives first report of the attack on Fort Sumter Governor Letcher orders the Public Guard to secure property and buildings belonging to the United States. Secessionists stage a huge, spontaneous rally. The rally begins at the Tredegar Iron Works, moves to Capitol Square and culminates at the Executive Mansion where they were addressed by Governor Letcher. During the rally a Confederate flag is raised for the first time over the State Capitol. The crowd is estimated at 10,000 – one –third of the city’s total population.
April 15, 1861	Lincoln issues call for 75,000 troops to suppress the rebellion
April 16, 1861	Former Governor Henry Wise convenes a “Spontaneous Southern Rights Convention” in Metropolitan Hall on Franklin Street. Labeled a “People’s Convention” by the press, this 400-delegate convention convened in defiance of the state convention called by the legislature.
April 16, 1861	William Ballard Preston of Montgomery County introduces an ordinance of secession 3 Virginia receives the official request of the War Department in Washington calling for Virginia to supply 2,340 men to the Union Army.
April 17, 1861	State Convention adopts ordinance of secession by a vote of 85-55; repealing the acts by which Virginia had ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788 and all subsequent amendments. State convention appropriates $100,000 for the defense of Virginia; suspends all federal authority in Virginia pending ratification of the ordinance of secession; and authorizes Gov. Letcher to inform Jefferson Davis of Virginia’s desire to join the Confederacy. Governor Letcher orders state troops to seize Harpers Ferry and Gosport Navy Yard; directed Norfolk river pilots to refuse to guide federal ships to the safety of open water and sanctioned the destruction of the Willoughby Point lighthouse.
April 18, 1861	Citizens of Richmond, on their own initiative, seize the customs house, post office and several other federal facilities. Gov. Letcher quickly dispatched state troops to prevent plunder. Governor Letcher accepts South Carolina’s offer of 2,000 troops and two full regiments of South Carolinians arrive in Norfolk, becoming the first Confederate troops to reach Virginia.
April 19, 1861	Gov. Letcher officially informs Jefferson Davis of Virginia’s desire to enter into “an alliance, offensive and defensive” with the Confederacy
April 20, 1861	Governor Letcher orders the seizure and identification of all vessels in Virginia waters. Letcher also orders the VMI Corps of Cadets to Richmond State convention creates an advisory council to assist Governor Letcher in preparing Virginia’s defenses and authorizing him to mobilize as many troops as necessary to repel invasion
April 21, 1861	Governor Letcher orders all guns at the Bellona (federal) Arsenal in Midlothian seized and moved to the Richmond Armory. Governor Letcher appoints his advisory council to include Colonel Francis H. Smith of VMI, Captain Mathew Fontaine Maury and John J Allen, chief justice of the Virginia Court of Appeals.
April 22, 1861	Governor Letcher offers command of Virginia forces to Robert E. Lee Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stevens arrives in Richmond
April 23, 1861	Lee appears before the state convention to accept command of Virginia forces
April 24, 1861	Former president John Tyler concludes a treaty with the Confederate States of America. State convention adopts the Confederate Constitution, subject to ratification by the people on May 23
April 29, 1861	Gov. Letcher expands the advisory council with the appointment of Lt. Governor Montague and former congressman T.S. Haymond Virginia elects five persons to represent Virginia in the Confederate Congress
May 6, 1861	Arkansas secedes
May 7, 1861	Virginia formally enters the Confederacy; Tennessee secedes
May 20, 1861	North Carolina secedes
May 23, 1861	North Carolina secedes May 23, 1861 Ordinance of secession ratified by popular vote of 125,950 to 20,373
June 1861	Confederate capital moved to Richmond

¹ 152 being equal to the number of members of the House of Delegates

² This was a routine shipment authorized long before Lincoln took office and the federal government cancelled it in order to avoid an incident.

³ Ironically, it was Preston, who 30 years earlier introduced legislation in the General Assembly advocating consideration of ways to end slavery

Bibliography
Boney, F.N. John Letcher of Virginia: The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor. University of Alabama Press. 1966.

Heinemann, Ronald L. et al. Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: A History of Virginia 1607-2007. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2007.

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