The cotton crop of Louisiana was far below normal because of excessive rains
After South Carolina secedes, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia,and Texas follow.
JANUARY 7
Louisiana delegates vote for succession.
JANUARY 10
Baton Rouge Barracks surrender to Louisiana.
JANUARY 18
William T. Sherman resigns from the State Seminary of Learning and Military Institute at Pineville. 		  FEBRUARY 20
Beauregard resigns commission in the United States Army.
FEBRUARY 27
Beauregard becomes Brigadier General of the Confederate States Army. 
MARCH 4
At Lincoln’s inauguration he had no plans to end slavery in states where it already existed
MARCH 7
Braxton Bragg becomes Brigadier General in Confederate States Army.		   APRIL 21
Governor Moore asks for 5,000 more infantry volunteers.
MAY 6
The New Orleans Bee reports that people holding US postage stamps must use them by June 1, 1861.
MAY 8
Lincoln orders the head of customs at Louisville to stop the shipment of ammunition to the seceded states.
MAY 23
Even with war clouds on the horizon, Louisianians marked the social season with continuous events.
MAY 23
The Louisiana secession convention endorses Jefferson Davis for President		   OCTOBER 12
Federal fleet at Southwest Pass is attacked by Commodore George H. Hollins.
OCTOBER 18
Appointed commander of the Department of Louisiana, Major –General Mansfield Lovell. 
NOVEMBER
The price of coffee increases to $1.25 a pound.  Soap costs $1.00. 
NOVEMBER
Another Irish brigade in New Orleans results in the enlistment of six companies to serve local protection. 
NOVEMBER
Prices in Alexandria included ham at 45 cents and coffee at $1.50 per pound, while salt sold for $12 a sack. 		  By 1862 there were more than 3,000 colored military organizations
JANUARY 26
A year of session passes in Louisiana.
JANUARY 26
President Lincoln issues a war order authorizing the Union to launch an attack against the Confederacy. 
MARCH 8
President Lincoln demotes General McCellan from supreme command of the Army of Virginia
MARCH 13
Jefferson Davis orders that all white males appear within six days before the marshal of their district to register.   		   MAY 2
General Butler opens a headquarters at the St. Charles Hotel. 
MAY 2
General Butler reopens the Opelousas Railroad to freight traffic. 
MAY 7
Commander James S. Palmer, is sent to Baton Rouge to demand surrender.  Baton Rouge surrenders.
MAY 12
Federal troops occupy Baton Rouge. General Thomas Williams captures Baton Rouge.
MAY 15
Gen. Butler institutes the “Women’s Order” after his officers are treated poorly.		   JUNE 10
General Butler orders all state employees to take oath of allegiance to the United States.
JUNE 11
General George F. Shepley is appointed military governor of Louisiana. 
JULY 12
General Butler issues a confiscation act effective September 1862.
JULY 13
Governor Moore orders all free white males 17 to 50 to enlist. 
JULY 25
General Butler orders all African-Americans to join Federal forces. 		   JANUARY 1
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
JANUARY 29
General Grant comes to Louisiana.
APRIL
Charles A. Peabody becomes chief justice for the Supreme Court for Federally occupied Louisiana.
MAY 1
General Banks orders the organization of African-American troops.
MAY 23
General Banks begins the 48-day siege on Port Hudson. 		  AUGUST 19
President Jefferson Davis promotes Henry Watkins Allen to Brigadier General.
AUGUST 24
President Lincoln orders General Shepley to reestablish Civil Government in Louisiana.
NOVEMBER 3
Lincoln writes to James H. Hackett, “I have endured a great deal of ridicule without much malice".
NOV 22  Henry W. Allen is elected Governor of Confederate Louisiana.
 
APRIL 9  The Battle of Pleasant Hill is fought.
APRIL 25
General Banks’ army enters Alexandria.
MAY 6
The Civil War Battle of Calcasieu Pass is won by the Confederates
MAY 13
Alexandria is burned by Union troops and largely destroyed. 		  MAY 8
General Dick Taylor surrenders Louisiana Confederate troops in Louisiana
MAY 26
Lieutenant General Buckner negotiates the surrender of Confederate troops in the Trans-Mississippi Department.
JUNE 2
General Edmund Kirby Smith approves the surrender of his Trans-Mississippi Department.
JUNE 2
Governor Henry W Allen delivers his farewell address
JULY 5
The Secret Service begins operating under the Treasury Department.
1860-1
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NOVEMBER 6
Lincoln’s picture is on the U.S. penny and the five-dollar bill.  
Lincoln was the first president to wear a beard while he held the office of President.
NOVEMBER 26
In Louisiana, the Minute Men of Bossier Parish organize after citizens pass a secession ordinance
DECEMBER 3
The second session of the Thirty-six congress gathers in Washington D.C.
DEC 10   
Governor Thomas O. Moore calls a special session to discuss secession in the legislature.
DECEMBER 15
The “Boston Traveler” newspaper states that New Orleans banks are the strongest in the Union
DECEMBER 20
The Louisiana legislature discusses the question of secession
JAN 23 Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard heads the United States Military Academy
JANUARY 23
Louisiana secession convention convenes in Baton Rouge.
JANUARY 24
General Joseph G. Totten, Chief Engineer for the U.S. Army removes Beauregard from West Point. 
JANUARY 26
Louisiana becomes the sixth state to secede from Union
JANUARY 29
Louisiana secession convention reconvenes in New Orleans.
FEBRUARY 3
Governor Moore orders Fort McComb, United States Mint in New Orleans, and customhouse to surrender. 
FEBRUARY 5
Louisiana secession convention gives permission to the Governor to accept a $100,000 for official duties.
FEBRUARY 9
Jefferson Davis was educated at many institutions, including Transylvania University and West Point.
FEBRUARY 9
Delegates of the Montgomery convention unanimously elect Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy. 
FEBRUARY 9
Jefferson Davis gains strong ties to Mississippi after marrying a woman from a socially prominent family.
FEBRUARY 12
Louisiana adopts its own state flag
Louisiana's Governor Moore obtains control of Federal property in the State with the help of the Legislature.		   MARCH 9
The Louisiana legislature lets Gov. Moore transfer state troops to the Confederate Army.
MARCH 9
Louisiana responds by donating most of its guns and ammunition, leaving it unprepared for Federal attacks.
MARCH 9
The first call for Louisiana troops to serve in the Confederate army came on this day
MARCH 21
Louisiana joins the Confederate States of America
Five dollars was offered to any man who would join a Louisiana regiment.
The free Negroes of Pointe Coupee Parish form a military group to support the State
APRIL 8
President Davis asks for troops from the seceded states.
APRIL 9
The Metairie Race Course was being used as a camping area for troops
APRIL 11
1st Louisiana Regulars, leaves New Orleans to Pensacola. 
APRIL 12
Confederate General G.T. Beauregard (1818-1893) opens fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor at 4:30 am.
APRIL 12
Lincoln says Confederates had been tricked into attacking Sumter since he sent boats to the forts without guns.
APRIL 14
Federal forces surrender to the Confederates at Fort Sumter.		   MAY 26
Civil War comes to Louisiana as Union Navy begins Mississippi River blockade.
MAY 31
The mint in New Orleans closes.
MAY 31
Confederate General Beauregard is given command of the Confederate Alexandria Line. 
JUNE 1
The United States and the Confederacy simultaneously end mail interchange. 
JUNE 1
The Sons of Erin, citizens of Ireland living in Donaldsonville, volunteer for service.
JULY 22
Union admiral David Farragut’s gunboats threaten any steamers on the River. 
JULY 22
Beauregard becomes a full general in the Confederate States Army.
AUGUST
General Twiggs is presented with $100,000 from the city council of New Orleans to build up defenses.
AUGUST 8
President Davis calls to the Confederate states for four hundred thousand troops. 
SEPTEMBER 28
Governor Moore says all citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five would be subject to militia duty.  		  DECEMBER
Enrollment at LSU drops from 404 students in1861 to 94
DECEMBER
The Confederate government offers a bounty plan:  $50 for those who enlist or volunteer for three years. 
DECEMBER 7
The West Baton Rouge newspaper the “Sugar Planter” suspends publication due to shortage of paper.   		  MARCH 17
Louisiana’s Judah Benjamin becomes Confederate Secretary of State.
APRIL 12
Braxton Bragg advances to full general in the Confederate Army. 
APRIL 18
Commander David D. Porter starts bombing Forts Jackson and St. Philip at midmorning.
APRIL 18
In the first day 1,400 shells were fired at the two forts
APRIL 24
Confederate troops begin to evacuate New Orleans.    
APRIL 25
The cause of the fall of New Orleans was the failure of the Confederate naval and coast defenses.
APRIL 25
Admiral David Farragut captures New Orleans.
APRIL 28
New Orleans, considered the largest city in the Confederacy surrenders. 
MAY 1
Louisiana capitol is moved from Baton Rouge to Opelousas. 		  MAY 16
General Butler stops the circulation of Confederate bills, effective May 27th 1862.
MAY 16
Mayor Monroe protests Butler’s “General Order No. 28”, (Woman’s Order) and is taken out of office.
MAY 18
General Butler sends New Orleans officials to Fort Jackson for protesting his Woman’s Order. 
MAY 26
The Trans-Mississippi Department is created by the Confederate States of America and includes Louisiana. 
MAY 26
Butler orders penalties to anyone in New Orleans churches caught praying for the destruction of the Union. 
MAY 29
Federal occupation of Baton Rouge begins.
MAY 30
General Butler calls a “General Order No. 36” – a death sentence for Doyle, McLane, Kane, Smith, and Stanley.
JUNE 3
Butler grants a reprieve for the six individuals sentenced with the “General Order No. 36”.
JUNE 5
Butler orders the hanging of William B. Mumford for tearing down the United States flag.
JUNE 7
William B. Mumford is executed.		   AUGUST 5
General John C. Breckinridge and his Confederate troops fail to recapture Baton Rouge
AUGUST 9
Admiral David G. Farragut warns women and children to evacuate Donaldsonville and then fires upon the town
AUGUST 9
The United States Relief Commission in New Orleans reports that relief has been given to 9,892. 
AUGUST 16
Federals start to evacuate Baton Rouge.
SEPTEMBER
The 1st Regiment Louisiana Native Guards become the first black regiment in the U.S. army. 
SEPTEMBER 25
General Butler orders all Americans over the age of 18 to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. 
DECEMBER 17
Federals re-occupy Baton Rouge.
DECEMBER 30
The Baton Rouge Capitol is burned.  		  MAY 23
General Banks acts in conjunction with General Ulysses S. Grant’s attack on Vicksburg, Mississippi.
MAY 27
Federal troops fail to capture Port Hudson
JUNE 14
General Banks once again attacks Port Hudson. 
JUNE 23
General Taylor attacks Federal forces at Berwick’s Bay.
JUNE 24
The Battle of Donaldsonville begins.
JULY 4
Vicksburg, Mississippi falls to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s attack.
JULY 9
Federals gain control of the Mississippi River. 
JULY 9
General Franklin Gardner surrenders Port Hudson to General Banks.
JULY 23
A new constitution is adopted by vote of those who had taken the Federal oath of allegiance.
JANUARY 11
General Banks orders an election of state officials.
JANUARY 25
Henry Watkins Allen is inaugurated as Governor of Confederate Louisiana.
FEBRUARY 2
General Banks writes to Lincoln stating Louisiana has 105,000 bales of cotton belonging to the rebels.
FEBRUARY 22
Michael Hahn is elected as the new governor of Union occupied Louisiana. 
FEBRUARY 22
Second Confederate Congress convenes in Richmond, Virginia.
MARCH 4
Hahn is inaugurated as Governor of Federal Louisiana.
MARCH 17
Federal troops capture Alexandria.
MARCH 31
Federal troops capture Natchitoches.
APRIL 6
Federals meet to draft Constitution for Union occupied Louisiana.
APRIL 8  The Battle of Mansfield is fought in DeSoto Parish. 
  MAY 18
The Battle of Yellow Bayou is the last engagement of the Red River Campaign.
MAY 18
An estimated 860 casualties are reported for this battle. 
MAY 31
John H. Ransdell writes to Governor Thomas O. Moore:  “The country in many places below is ruined"
SEPTEMBER 5
Federals in Louisiana adopt their own Constitution.
OCTOBER 4
New Orleans Tribune, the first black daily newspaper, forms. 
DECEMBER 21
Governor Allen protests to General Kirby Smith against his proposal to destroy cotton in Louisiana.
                                     
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