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The 11 Confederate states in order of secession
Between December 20, 1860 and May 20, 1861, eleven Southern states passed ordinances of secession and joined the Confederate States of America. They left the Union in three waves. South Carolina went first, alone, in the six weeks after Lincoln's election. Six Gulf and Deep South states followed by early February. After Fort Sumter fell on April 12, 1861, four Upper South states joined. The war they started killed roughly 620,000 soldiers and ended slavery in the United States.
All 11 states in exact order of secession
The order below is the date each state's secession ordinance was ratified. Wave 1 is the initial "cotton states" wave. Wave 2 is the post-Sumter Upper South wave.
| # | State | Secession date | Wave |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | Dec 20, 1860 | Deep South |
| 2 | Mississippi | Jan 9, 1861 | Deep South |
| 3 | Florida | Jan 10, 1861 | Deep South |
| 4 | Alabama | Jan 11, 1861 | Deep South |
| 5 | Georgia | Jan 19, 1861 | Deep South |
| 6 | Louisiana | Jan 26, 1861 | Deep South |
| 7 | Texas | Feb 1, 1861 | Deep South |
| 8 | Virginia | Apr 17, 1861 | Upper South |
| 9 | Arkansas | May 6, 1861 | Upper South |
| 10 | Tennessee | May 7, 1861 | Upper South |
| 11 | North Carolina | May 20, 1861 | Upper South |
Wave 1: the seven Deep South states (Dec 1860 to Feb 1861)
South Carolina had threatened secession for thirty years. When Abraham Lincoln won the November 1860 presidential election without carrying a single Southern state, its legislature called a convention. On December 20, 1860, the convention voted 169 to 0 to leave the Union. Charleston fired cannon in celebration.
Mississippi followed on January 9, 1861. Its declaration of causes named slavery as the reason in its opening sentence: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery, the greatest material interest of the world." Florida seceded the next day, Alabama the day after. Georgia went on January 19, Louisiana on January 26, and Texas on February 1, over the objections of Governor Sam Houston, who was removed from office for refusing to swear loyalty to the Confederacy.
Delegates from these seven states met in Montgomery, Alabama on February 4, 1861 and formed the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as provisional president on February 18. The seven-state Confederacy had a capital, a constitution, and no war yet.
Wave 2: the four Upper South states (Apr to May 1861)
Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina had refused to secede during the winter. Virginia's convention voted against secession on April 4, 1861. Everything changed on April 12, when Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. Governors in the Upper South refused to send troops against fellow Southerners.
Virginia seceded on April 17, 1861. Richmond became the new Confederate capital in May. Arkansas followed on May 6, Tennessee on May 7, and North Carolina on May 20. The 11-state Confederacy was complete. It would last less than four years.
The border states: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware
Four slave states never seceded. Delaware voted overwhelmingly to stay. Maryland was placed under federal military control before its legislature could act, keeping the corridor to Washington D.C. open. Kentucky declared neutrality until Confederate troops invaded in September 1861, after which it sided firmly with the Union. Missouri had a pro-Confederate governor who was driven from the state capital by Union forces; a rump legislature voted for secession in Neosho in October 1861, but the state government in Jefferson City remained loyal.
The Confederate flag showed 13 stars because it counted Missouri and Kentucky, but both states were legally Union states throughout the war. West Virginia is a special case: 50 counties in western Virginia refused to secede, formed their own government, and were admitted as a new Union state on June 20, 1863.
The war in numbers
- Population 1860: 9.1 million in the Confederacy (3.5 million enslaved), 22 million in the Union.
- Soldiers: roughly 750,000 Confederate, 2.1 million Union.
- Deaths: approximately 260,000 Confederate, 360,000 Union, for a total near 620,000. Recent scholarship pushes the number higher, closer to 750,000.
- Major battles: Bull Run (Jul 1861), Shiloh (Apr 1862), Antietam (Sep 1862, single bloodiest day at 22,700 casualties), Gettysburg (Jul 1863, 51,000 casualties across three days), Vicksburg (Jul 1863), Atlanta (Sep 1864), Appomattox (Apr 1865).
- End: Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, North Carolina on April 26. The last Confederate general to surrender was Stand Watie on June 23, 1865.
Confederate capitals and presidents
The Confederacy had two capitals. Montgomery, Alabama served from February 4 to May 29, 1861. Richmond, Virginia served from May 29, 1861 to April 3, 1865. When Richmond fell, the Confederate government fled south through Danville, Virginia and Greensboro, North Carolina, ending in flight through Georgia. Jefferson Davis was captured near Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865.
Davis was the only president the Confederacy had. Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia was vice president. Robert E. Lee, though the most famous Confederate general, was never president; he commanded the Army of Northern Virginia and only became general-in-chief of all Confederate armies in January 1865, three months before the surrender.
Readmission to the Union
Each Confederate state was readmitted after ratifying the 14th Amendment and rewriting its constitution to abolish slavery and grant Black citizenship. Tennessee was the first, readmitted July 24, 1866. The next six (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina) came back on June 25, 1868. Georgia was readmitted in 1868, expelled again in 1869, and finally re-readmitted July 15, 1870, making it the last state fully restored.
Learn the Confederate states by playing
Statedoku uses "Confederate state" as a puzzle constraint. Fill the grid and the 11 states stick in memory.
Play the Confederate quiz →Frequently asked questions
Which state seceded first?
South Carolina, on December 20, 1860. The convention vote was 169 to 0. It was the first and, for 22 days, the only state outside the Union.
Which state seceded last?
North Carolina, on May 20, 1861. It only seceded after Lincoln called for 75,000 troops following the fall of Fort Sumter.
Was West Virginia a Confederate state?
No. West Virginia broke away from Virginia in 1861 because its western counties opposed secession, and it was admitted to the Union as its 35th state on June 20, 1863.
Why did the Confederate flag have 13 stars if there were 11 states?
The Confederacy also claimed Missouri and Kentucky, which had rival pro-Confederate governments-in-exile. Both states legally remained in the Union.
Which was the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union?
Georgia, on July 15, 1870. It had been readmitted in 1868, expelled again in 1869 when it removed Black legislators, and finally re-readmitted in 1870.