1861 May 7th

May 7 1861 Tuesday

Virginia admitted to Confederacy

Camp Jackson Operations

CSA. George T Sinclair became the Confederate Naval Agent in Europe, serving in that post until 28 April 1865.

Alabama. The Union blockading force captured the Confederate steamers Dick Keyes and Lewis near Mobile.

Kentucky. Union Major Robert Anderson, the erstwhile Union commander of Fort Sumter, accepted a commission as Major-General of the Kentucky Militia. Although Kentucky was a neutral state, Anderson was an acceptable choice to make whatever military preparations were possible due to his strong Southern sympathies.

Maryland. The railroad routes were restored between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania with Washington, DC, via Baltimore through Maryland, and normal traffic was restored to the capital after a period of disruption by pro-Confederate militants.

Tennessee. The Tennessee state legislature entered into a “military league” with the Confederate States after announcing its secession on 6 May 1861. The secession was ratified by the popular mandate on 24 June 1861. Tennessee was not formally admitted to the Confederacy until 17 May 1861.

Tennessee. Serious riots occurred in Knoxville after the raising of a United States flag. One rioter was killed and many others were injured.

Texas. The former US Army garrison of Fort Davis was surrendered by the US Army. The 11 officers and 300 men refused an invitation to enlist with the Confederacy and were imprisoned by 1,800 Confederates near Eastonville. Fort Davis was established in 1854 and named after Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Fort Davis was located in a box canyon near Limpia Creek on the eastern side of the Davis Mountains. It provided protection for emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail. The fort was first garrisoned by Lieutenant-Colonel Washington Seawell and six companies of the 8th US Infantry. The US Infantry was engaged in the pursuit of Comanches, Kiowas, and Apaches. The fort was occupied by Confederate troops from the spring of 1861 until the summer of 1862 when Union forces regained possession. The post was soon abandoned and remained deserted until June 1867, when Lieutenant-Colonel Wesley Merritt and four companies of the 9th US Cavalry reoccupied Fort Davis.

Virginia. Virginia was admitted to the Confederate States of America after announcing its secession on 17 April 1861.

Virginia. Virginia State troops occupied Arlington Heights on the south bank of the Potomac River, overlooking Washington, DC.

Virginia. USS Yankee, Lieutenant Thomas O Selfridge, was fired on by Confederate batteries at Gloucester Point.

Union Organisation

Commander in Chief: President Abraham Lincoln
Vice-President: Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of War: Simon Cameron
Secretary of the Navy: Gideon Welles

Coast Blockading Squadron: Silas Horton Stringham
Gulf Blockading Squadron: William Mervine
Pacific Squadron: John Berrien Montgomery
Potomac Flotilla: James Harmon Ward

General–in-Chief: Winfield Scott

Department of Annapolis: Benjamin Franklin Butler awaited

Department of the East: John Ellis Wool

Department of Florida: Harvey Brown

Department of New Mexico: Vacant

Department of the Ohio: George Brinton McClellan awaited

Department of the Pacific: Edwin Vose Sumner

District of Oregon: George Wright

Department of Pennsylvania: Robert Patterson

Department of Texas: Vacant

Department of Utah: Philip St George Cooke

Department of Washington: Joseph King Fenno Mansfield

Department of the West: Edmund Brooke Alexander temporary

Confederate Organisation

Commander in Chief: President Jefferson Finis Davis
Vice-President: Alexander Hamilton Stephens
Secretary of War: Leroy Pope Walker
Secretary of the Navy: Stephen Russell Mallory

Department of Alexandria: Philip St George Cocke

Alexandria Line: Philip St George Cocke

Department of North Carolina: Theophilus Hunter Holmes

Defences of North Carolina: Theophilus Hunter Holmes

Department of South Carolina: Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

“Forces in Charleston”: Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

Department of Texas: Earl Van Dorn

Department of West Florida: Braxton Bragg

“Forces in Pensacola”: Braxton Bragg

District of Louisiana: David Emanuel Twiggs

“Forces in New Orleans” “Army of Louisiana”: Braxton Bragg

Defences of Savannah: Alexander Robert Lawton

Potomac Line: Daniel Ruggles

Forces in Harper’s Ferry”: Thomas Jonathan Jackson

“Forces in Norfolk”: Walter Gwynn

Forces in Richmond: Joseph Eggleston Johnston

Forces in the Kanawha Valley: Christopher Quarles Tompkins

Union Generals

Major-General USA

Winfield Scott

Brigadier-General USA

John Ellis Wool
William Selby Harney
Edwin Vose Sumner

Confederate Generals

Note: Italics, awaiting confirmation of the commission

Major-General PACS

David Emanuel Twiggs

Brigadier-General ACSA

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Braxton Bragg

Brigadier-General PACS

Alexander Robert Lawton
Milledge Lake Bonham