WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO MAY 1861
Find out what all happened April to May 1861

President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War (15. April 1861)

American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union. (29. April 1861)

American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces. (13. April 1861)

The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia. (13. May 1861)

American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia. (20. April 1861)

American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America. (8. May 1861)

Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri. (13. May 1861)

American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia. (24. May 1861)

American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union. (20. May 1861)

American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus. (27. April 1861)

American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. (12. April 1861)

First performance of Arthur Sullivan's debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas. (6. April 1861)

American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America. (6. May 1861)

American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union. (6. May 1861)

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong. (29. May 1861)

American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: a pro-Secession mob in Baltimore, Maryland, attacks United States Army troops marching through the city. (19. April 1861)

American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights. (13. May 1861)