Civil War Timeline / Chronology for April 1861

April 3, 1861	A "test vote" in the Virginia convention shows a 2-1 margin against secession	Virginia
	Virginia Secession Convention
April 4, 1861	Virginia's secessionist convention votes 80-45 against secession.	Virginia
	Virginia Secession Convention
April 6, 1861	Abraham Lincoln sends a message to Governor Pickens informing him that Fort Sumter will be reprovisioned and that if the effort is resisted the fort will be reinforced	South Carolina
	Fort Sumter
	Abraham Lincoln
April 7, 1861	P. G. T. Beauregard orders all transports to Fort Sumter cut off. This ended the fort's supply of fresh food	South Carolina
	P. G. T. Beauregard
	Fort Sumter
April 10, 1861	Braxton Bragg assumes command of the Department of Alabama and West Florida	Florida Alabama
	Braxton Bragg
April 11, 1861	Confederates demand the surrender of Fort Sumter	South Carolina
	Fort Sumter
	P. G. T. Beauregard
April 12, 1861 April 13, 1861	Beginning at 4:30 am on the 12th and continuing until the morning of the 13th, Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson arranges a surrender with Texas Senator Louis Wigfall on the morning of the 13th.	South Carolina
	P. G. T. Beauregard
	Fort Sumter
	Edmund Ruffin
	Civil War Firsts
	Robert Anderson
April 12, 1861 May 10, 1865	The American Civil War
	The Civil War
April 14, 1861	During the formal surrender of Fort Sumter Private Daniel Hough dies when the cannon he was loading (for the Union's 100-gun salute to the U.S. flag) discharges prematurely. He is the first man to die in the Civil War. A second man is mortally wounded.	South Carolina
	Fort Sumter
	Civil War Firsts
April 15, 1861	President Lincoln calls for 75,000 voluteers for three months service to deal with the "insurrection."
	Abraham Lincoln
April 15, 1861	Braxton Bragg places Lt. John Worden under arrest in Pensicola, Florida, making him the first prisoner-of-war in the American Civil War
	Braxton Bragg
	Civil War Firsts
April 15, 1861	Rejecting Lincoln's call for troops, Tennessee Governor Isham Harris orders a second session of the state legislature to consider the question of a secessionist convention.	Tennessee
April 16, 1861	The Confederate Congress passes a Conscription Act.
April 17, 1861	Virgina Secession Convention approves the wording of a referendum of secession and calls for a popular vote to approve it.	Virginia
	Confederate Order of Secession
	Virginia Ordinance of Secession
	Virginia Secession Convention
April 17, 1861	Star of the West is taken by militia aboard the Confederate Army steamer General Rusk off the coast of Texas.	Texas
	Star of the West
April 18, 1861	Robert E. Lee is offered command of the United States Army	Virginia
	Robert E. Lee
April 18, 1861	Troops begin to arrive in Washington, D. C.
	Washington D. C.
April 18, 1861	Federal forces withdraw from Harpers Ferry	West Virginia Virginia
	Harpers Ferry
April 19, 1861	Southern sympathizers in Baltimore cut telegraph lines and bridges to Washington, D. C. While passing through the city, the 6th Massachusetts Regiment is attacked. They open fire on a crowd. When the dust settles, three soldiers and one civilian were dead, the first casualties during fighting in the Civil War.	Maryland
	Civil War Firsts
	Washington D. C.
	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
	Maryland and Secession
April 19, 1861	Surprising most people, Lincoln calls for a blockade of Southern ports, a major element of Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan
	Winfield Scott
	Abraham Lincoln
April 19, 1861	Virginia forces take control of Harpers Ferry	West Virginia Virginia
	Harpers Ferry
April 19, 1861	Federal marshals seize records of telegraphs sent from major northern cities, leading to the arrest of southern sympathizers.
April 20, 1861	Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army	Virginia
	Robert E. Lee
April 20, 1861	Federal troops scuttle ships at the the Gosport Naval Yard and evacuate Norfolk, Virginia	Virginia
April 20, 1861	Guyandotte calls for the state to approve the actions of the Virginia legislature	West Virginia
	First Wheeling Convention
April 22, 1861	The Clarksburg (present-day West Virginia) Convention calls for a anti-secessionist convention to be held in May, 1861	West Virginia
	First Wheeling Convention
April 22, 1861	Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks calls a session of the Maryland legislature to consider secession	Maryland
	Maryland and Secession
April 23, 1861	George McClellan appointed Major General of the Ohio militia	Ohio
	George McClellan
April 23, 1861	Federal troops withdraw from Fort Smith	Arkansas
April 23, 1861	Nominated by Governor Letcher of Virginia and approved by the Assembly on the previous day, Robert E. Lee assumes command of Virginia's militia	Virginia
	Robert E. Lee
April 23, 1861	Virginia secessionist convention ratifies a temporary union with the Confederacy and accepts the Southern Constitution, subject to approval of the ordnance of secession	Virginia
	Virginia Secession Convention
April 25, 1861	New York's 7th Regiment arrives in Washington, having around Baltimore by boat.	New York
	Washington D. C.
April 25, 1861	In a daring nighttime operation Illinois troops steam from Alton to St. Louis and remove 10,000 muskets with the help of federal troops in the armory	Missouri Illinois
April 25, 1861	General Edwin Vose Sumner relieves Albert Sidney Johnston as Commander, Department of the Pacific	California
	Albert Sidney Johnston
	Edwin Vose Sumner
April 27, 1861	Lincoln extends the blockade to include Virginia and North Carolina	Virginia North Carolina
	Abraham Lincoln
April 27, 1861	Virginia offers Richmond to be the Confederate capital.	Virginia
	Richmond, Virginia
April 29, 1861	The Maryland legislature votes 53-13 against convening a secessionist convention, dashing the hopes of a sizable pro-South group, but did not vote to end the session	Maryland
	Maryland and Secession