Year by year · 19th century

1861

1861 in world history: 28 events, 22 births, 11 deaths, 2 works, 6 states founded and 9 that came to an end. 1,049 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 9 January

    Cadets fire on the Star of the West in Charleston Harbor

    Southern guns fired on the merchant ship Star of the West as it tried to resupply Fort Sumter, forcing it to turn back. The shots are sometimes called the first of the American Civil War.

  2. 10 January

    Florida secedes from the Union

    Florida's convention voted 62 to 7 to leave the United States, the third state to do so after South Carolina and Mississippi. It joined the Confederate States the following month.

    United States

  3. 11 January

    Alabama secedes from the Union

    Alabama's convention voted 61 to 39 to leave the United States, the fourth state to secede. Its capital Montgomery hosted the founding of the Confederate States the next month.

    United States

  4. 21 January

    Jefferson Davis bids farewell to the US Senate

    Following Mississippi's secession, Davis and four other Southern senators gave farewell speeches and resigned. Within weeks he was chosen as President of the Confederate States.

  5. 1 February

    Texas votes to secede from the Union

    A Texas convention voted 166 to 8 for secession, a decision confirmed by referendum later that month. Governor Sam Houston refused to swear loyalty to the Confederacy and was removed from office.

  6. 4 February

    Seceded states meet at Montgomery to form the Confederacy

    Delegates from six seceded states opened a convention in Montgomery, Alabama. Within days they adopted a provisional constitution and chose Jefferson Davis as provisional President.

  7. 9 February

    Jefferson Davis elected provisional President of the Confederacy

    Meeting in Montgomery, the Confederate provisional Congress chose Davis, a former Mississippi senator and US Secretary of War. He led the Confederacy throughout the Civil War.

  8. 13 February

    Fortress of Gaeta surrenders, ending the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

    After a three-month siege by Piedmontese forces, King Francis II surrendered Gaeta and went into exile. Weeks later the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed under Victor Emmanuel II.

    Francis II

  9. 23 February

    Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington

    Warned of a plot to kill him in Baltimore, President-elect Lincoln travelled through the city overnight in secret. He was mocked for the manner of his arrival, ten days before his inauguration.

  10. 2 March

    Congress creates the Nevada and Dakota territories

    Two days before leaving office, President James Buchanan signed acts organising the Nevada and Dakota territories. Nevada's silver helped finance the Union, and it became a state in 1864.

  11. 4 March

    Abraham Lincoln inaugurated as 16th President

    With seven states already seceded, Lincoln appealed to 'the better angels of our nature' in his inaugural address. War began at Fort Sumter five weeks later.

  12. 12 April

    Confederate guns open fire on Fort Sumter

    Confederate batteries bombarded the federal fort in Charleston harbour, forcing its surrender the next day. The attack began the American Civil War.

  13. Event

    Italian unification

    Italian unification, or the Risorgimento, was the political process that united the states of the Italian peninsula into a single kingdom, proclaimed in 1861.

  14. Battle

    Battle of Pavón

    The Battle of Pavón was fought on 17 September 1861 in Santa Fe province between the forces of the State of Buenos Aires under Bartolomé Mitre and those of the Argentine Confederation under Justo José de Urquiza.

  15. Event

    Emancipation reform of 1861

    The emancipation reform of 1861 was the decree of Tsar Alexander II abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire.

  16. Peace

    Canning Award

    The Canning Award was the 1861 arbitration by Lord Canning, Governor-General of India, of the succession dispute between the sons of Sayyid Said of Oman.

  17. Battle

    Battle of Fort Sumter

    The Battle of Fort Sumter, on 12–13 April 1861, opened the American Civil War, when Confederate batteries bombarded the federal fort in the harbour of Charleston, South Carolina.

  18. Battle

    Battle of Kỳ Hòa

    The Battle of Kỳ Hòa was fought on 24–25 February 1861 near Saigon, when a French force under Admiral Léonard Charner stormed the Vietnamese fortified lines commanded by Nguyễn Tri Phương.

ProfileState893 states with a known seat in 1861Open the atlas at 1861 →

In the profiles

  • Russian EmpireAlexander II's Emancipation Edict frees some 23 million privately owned serfs
  • United StatesThe Civil War begins after eleven Southern states secede
  • Argentine RepublicBartolomé Mitre defeats the Confederation at Pavón, reuniting Buenos Aires and the provinces
  • Kingdom of SardiniaVictor Emmanuel II is proclaimed King of Italy in Turin
  • Kingdom of ItalyParliament in Turin proclaims Victor Emmanuel II king of Italy
  • CircassiaCircassian delegates meet in a united assembly at Sochi
  • Sultanate of ZanzibarThe Canning Award confirms Zanzibar’s separation from Oman

Wars and longer events

Born in 1861 22

Died in 1861 11

Works 2

States founded 6

States that came to an end 9

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1861. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1861
MLA
“1861.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1861. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1861.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1861.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1861’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1861 (Accessed: ).