Texas Historical Documents

Texas Timeline - 1861

Texas Timeline Index

1861 January 21 Gov. Sam Houston submits the secession resolution to the legislature.
1861 February 01 The ordinance of secession passes.
1861 February 13 Robert E. Lee leaves Fort Mason on his way back to Virginia, to lead the South in the Civil War.
1861 February 16 Local secessionists in San Antonio force Gen. David Twiggs to surrender all U.S. equipment.
1861 April 13 Fort Sumter is fired upon; the Civil War begins.
1861 May 29 Henry Robinson, famed Indian fighter, is killed near Uvalde
1861 August 03 The U.S.S. South Carolina fires on Galveston.
1861 September 09 Col. Benjamin Terry organizes his 'Texas Rangers.'
1861 December 14 H. H. Sibley takes command of the 'Army of New Mexico' at Fort Bliss and prepares for his ill fated attempt to conquer the Southwest for the Confederacy.
1861 December 17 Col. Ben Terry is killed leading a Rebel charge against the Union in Kentucky.