Civil War Timeline / Chronology for May 1861

May 1, 1861	Robert E. Lee orders Stonewall Jackson to remove the weapons and equipment from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry	West Virginia Virginia
	Harpers Ferry
	Robert E. Lee
	Stonewall Jackson
May 3, 1861	General Winfield Scott orders troops to seize Arlington Heights, overlooking Washington D. C.	Virginia
	Winfield Scott
	Washington D. C.
May 6, 1861	Arkansas secedes from the Union	Arkansas
	Confederate Order of Secession
	Arkansas Ordinance of Secession
May 6, 1861	Tennessee votes to put the question of secession before the people in a popular referendum	Tennessee
	Confederate Order of Secession
May 10, 1861	Nathaniel Lyons [US] takes control of St. Louis to end rioting, seizing Camp Jackson (Confederate militia) and 1200 1855 Springfield Rifles	Missouri
	1855 Springfield Rifle
May 12, 1861	After some fighting with Southern sympathizers Union troops under Brigadier General Benjamin Butler [US] gain control of Baltimore	Maryland
	Benjamin Butler
May 13, 1861	George McClellan [US] appointed Commander, Department of Ohio. The following day he is promoted major general, his rank in the Ohio militia. Only General-in-Chief Winfield Scott held a higher rank	Ohio
	George McClellan
	Army of the Ohio
May 13, 1861 May 15, 1861	The First Wheeling Convention	West Virginia
	First Wheeling Convention
May 13, 1861	North Carolina elects delegates to the Secession Convention	North Carolina
May 15, 1861	Robert Anderson promoted to Brigadier General
	Robert Anderson
May 15, 1861	Nathaniel Lyons [US] occupies Jefferson City, capital of Missouri	Missouri
May 20, 1861	Kentucky declares its neutrality in the War Between The States	Kentucky
	Confederate Order of Secession
May 20, 1861	Delegates to the North Carolina Secession Convention vote to withdraw from the Union	North Carolina
	Confederate Order of Secession
	North Carolina Ordinance of Secession
May 21, 1861	Missouri declares its neutrality in the Civil War	Missouri
	Confederate Order of Secession
May 21, 1861	Confederate Congress votes to move its capital from Montgomery to Richmond	Alabama Virginia
	Richmond, Virginia
May 21, 1861	Sterling Price signs an agreement with William Harney, essentially handing Missouri over to federal forces.	Missouri
	Sterling Price
May 23, 1861	Virginia ratifies the Secessionist Convention referendum by a vote of 132,201 to 37,451	Virginia
	Confederate Order of Secession
	Virginia Secession Convention
May 23, 1861	John Floyd commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army
	John Floyd
May 23, 1861	Thomas Jackson strikes the B&O Railroad, capturing 56 locomotives
	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
	Stonewall Jackson
May 24, 1861	Federal forces occupy Alexandria	Virginia
May 24, 1861	Sterling Price refuses to disband his troops	Missouri
	Sterling Price
May 24, 1861	Col. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves is killed in the Marshall House Inn in Alexandria, Virginia, after he and his men removed a Confederate flag. He is generally regarded as the first officer killed while on duty in the American Civil War.	New York
	Civil War Firsts
	Encounter at the Marshall House
May 24, 1861	Benjamin Butler uses the term "contraband" to describe slaves who have crossed into the Northern camps
	Benjamin Butler
	contraband
	Civil War Firsts
May 28, 1861	Robert Anderson assumes command of the Department of Kentucky. Irvin McDowell assumes command of the Department of Northeastern Virginia	Virginia
	Robert Anderson
	Irvin McDowell
May 28, 1861	Confederates seize the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Point of Rocks to Cumberland	Maryland West Virginia
	Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
May 30, 1861	At a convention in Knoxville, a group of Unionists denounce Tennessee's secessionist actions.	Tennessee
May 31, 1861	P. G. T. Beauregard ordered to assume command of the Alexandria Line	Virginia
	Army of Northern Virginia