Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Secession & Confederacy / Civil War

Secession & Confederacy Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021

1. Secession & Confederacy Marker

Inscription.

Secession and Confederacy, also, Civil War. . Secession and Confederacy. For fifteen years before the Civil War, Alabamians took prominent roles in a national debate over the expansion of slavery into the western territories. A series of compromises maintained peace until 1860, when the Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln for president on an aggressively anti-expansion platform., After Lincoln won the election, secessionists clamored for slaveholding states to leave the Union. Delegates to an Alabama convention met in the State Capitol in January 1861 and, by a vote of 61 to 39, decided to secede. , Alabama invited other seceding states to Montgomery, where delegates adopted a constitution for the new Confederate States of America. On February 18, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated president at the Alabama Capitol. , Montgomery was the seat of the Confederate government for three months. From the Winter Building at Court Square, officials telegraphed authorization for the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, the opening salvo to four years of devastating war. , Civil War. War brought dramatic change for nearly every Alabamian. Three-fourths of white Alabama men of fighting age served in the Confederacy, and around twenty-seven thousand them died. Many whites in the hill country opposed secession, and some fought for the Union. Eight thousand runaway slaves from Alabama volunteered for the Federal army., On the home front, white women, their families, and the enslaved kept plantations and farms in operation. Residents struggled under repeated shifts of control by Federal and Confederate forces in north Alabama, where much of the land was devastated. Thousands of slaves leased to the government built Confederate defenses and armaments. Alabama's young ironmaking industry produced essential munitions for the Confederacy and became the target of Federal campaigns late in the war. , On August 5, 1864, Confederate troops at Fort Morgan mounted a fierce but unsuccessful defense of Mobile Bay against a Federal fleet intent on capturing the last major port under Confederate control.

Secession & Confederacy For fifteen years before the Civil War, Alabamians took prominent roles in a national debate over the expansion of slavery into the western territories. A series of compromises maintained peace until 1860, when the Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln for president on an aggressively anti-expansion platform.

After Lincoln won the election, secessionists clamored for slaveholding states to leave the Union. Delegates to an Alabama convention met in the State Capitol in January 1861 and, by a vote of 61 to 39, decided to secede.

Alabama invited other seceding states to Montgomery, where delegates adopted a constitution for the new Confederate States of America. On February 18, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated president at the Alabama Capitol.

Montgomery was the seat of the Confederate government for three months. From the Winter Building at Court Square, officials telegraphed authorization for the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, the opening salvo to four years of devastating war.

Civil War War brought dramatic change for nearly every Alabamian. Three-fourths of white Alabama men of fighting age served in the Confederacy, and around twenty-seven thousand them died. Many whites in the

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

hill country opposed secession, and some fought for the Union. Eight thousand runaway slaves from Alabama volunteered for the Federal army.

On the home front, white women, their families, and the enslaved kept plantations and farms in operation. Residents struggled under repeated shifts of control by Federal and Confederate forces in north Alabama, where much of the land was devastated. Thousands of slaves leased to the government built Confederate defenses and armaments. Alabama's young ironmaking industry produced essential munitions for the Confederacy and became the target of Federal campaigns late in the war.

On August 5, 1864, Confederate troops at Fort Morgan mounted a fierce but unsuccessful defense of Mobile Bay against a Federal fleet intent on capturing the last major port under Confederate control.

Erected 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1861.

Location. 32° 22.684′ N, 86° 18.115′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Dexter Avenue and North Bainbridge Street, on the right when traveling west. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Lurleen

Civil War Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021

2. Civil War Marker

B. Wallace Office Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Ave, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Emancipation / Reconstruction (a few steps from this marker); Cotton State / Slavery (a few steps from this marker); Alabama Territory / Path to Statehood (a few steps from this marker); Industrialization / Iron Boom (within shouting distance of this marker); Resistance and War / Alabama Fever (within shouting distance of this marker); George Washington (within shouting distance of this marker); Alabama's First Peoples / Creek Country (within shouting distance of this marker); The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Secession & Confederacy / Civil War Marker on right. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021

3. Secession & Confederacy / Civil War Marker on right.

Secession & Confederacy / Civil War Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021

4. Secession & Confederacy / Civil War Marker

Bronze relief sculpture closeup. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021

5. Bronze relief sculpture closeup.

One of the 16 bronze relief sculptures by sculptor Caleb O'Connor.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 213 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.