The 130 delegates to the Louisiana secession convention had assembled in Baton Rouge three days before. A popular referendum earlier and the governor's seizure of federal forts and property over the previous two weeks made the convention's decision a foregone conclusion. After a motion to delay was overwhelmingly voted down, the convention voted 113 to 17 to secede immediately from the Union. The ordinance of secession was signed by 120 delegates, including seven who had voted against it. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Edwin C. Bearrs, "The Seizure of the Forts and Public Property in Louisiana," in Arthur W. Bergeron, Civil War in Louisiana, Vol. II (Lafayette, LA: University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2004), 406-407.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
