Secession Convention

Related Cities & Topics:

View Full Size

Florida Ordinance of Secession, 1861.

Photo Credit: Florida State Archives

The days and drama that led to Florida becoming the third state to secede from the Union.

Florida's Secession Convention began meeting in the state capitol on January 3, 1861. Delegates who opposed immediate secession, known as "cooperationists," introduced a proposal to have the convention's actions ratified in a statewide election, but it was not adopted. Instead the convention determined that it had the power to secede without ratification by popular vote.

On January 9, the convention listened to a draft Ordinance of Secession, found it too ambiguous and directed a committee to make revisions. The final version proclaimed Florida "a Sovereign and Independent Nation." Cooperationists made a series of last-ditch amendments, but they were defeated. The final vote on January 10 showed 62 delegates in support and seven opposed to secession. 

The final version proclaimed Florida "a Sovereign and Independent Nation."

On January 11, 1861, the delegates signed the document. An emotional moment occurred when cooperationist George T. Ward, who would die the following year at the Battle of Williamsburg, stated: "When I die I want it inscribed on my tombstone that I was the last man to give up the ship." James Owens countered with: "Unlike my friend Colonel Ward, I want it inscribed that I was the FIRST man to quit the rotten old hulk."

With the document's signing, Florida became the third state to withdraw from the Union and soon became a member of the new Confederate States of America.

To learn more, see: "The Florida Secession Convention" by Ralph A. Wooster, The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 4, April 1958.