The American Civil War - Chronologically

May 24, 1861 The Marshall House Incident  Alexandria, VA * " first two deaths from violence, representing each side of the national conflict, during the American Civil War." "In the early morning hours of May 24, 1861, the day after a public referendum in Virginia supported secession from the United States, Alexandria was invaded by Union forces crossing the Potomac. Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, the young commander of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves taking part in the invasion was a close confidant and friend of President Abraham Lincoln. Within minutes of arriving in the city, Ellsworth attempted to remove a secessionist flag from the rooftop flagpole of the Marshall House hostelry that once stood at this corner. As he descended the stairs after successfully removing the flag, proprietor James W. Jackson emerged from the shadows and killed Ellsworth with a gunshot to the chest at point blank range. Jackson himself was then immediately shot and bayoneted by Corporal Franci...

May 22, 1861 Grafton, VA (today WV) Fetterman Bridge - Private Thornsbury Bailey Brown shot "first enlisted Union soldier killed by a Confederate"; "first casualty of enemy fire"? -  Northwest Virginia Railroad joins the B&O here, so in May Union troops poured in to  protect https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=4547

 May 18, 1861 - Romney, WV https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=58656 Hampshire County Courthouse Secession and Occupation On May 23, 1861, Virginians voted in a statewide referendum to approve or disapprove the Ordinance of Secession that the convention in Richmond had passed on April 17. Here at the Hampshire County Courthouse, 1,188 out of 2,635 eligible voters approved and 788 disapproved secession. Virginia seceded from the Union, and the Hampshire County Committee of Safety voted to raise $10,000 to support the Confederate war effort. Although Hampshire County became part of the new state of West Virginia, county residents generally sided with the Confederacy during the war. On May 18, 1861, two local militia companies, the Hampshire Guards and the Frontier Riflemen, left Romney to join other Confederate units training at Harpers Ferry. During the course of the war, Hampshire County raised thirteen Confederate companies and only one for the Union. After the war, on September 26, 186...

May 13, 1861 Gen. Butler Occupies Federal Hill Baltimore, MD https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=302549 Federal Hill Building the Fort During the Civil War, Union cannon perched here on Federal Hill loomed menacingly over Baltimore, helping to control the pro-Southern elements of the city. "With artillery posted here," one soldier wrote, "Baltimore itself could be laid in ashes, should occasion require it." At the beginning of the war, Baltimore's largely pro-successionist residents bitterly opposed Union attempts to "suppress the rebellion," opposition that climaxed with the Pratt Street Riot on April 19, 1861. As tensions continued to simmer, Union Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's troops occupied Federal Hill on May 13 and brought their guns to bear on the city. Baltimore would live under military authority for the rest of the war. The 5th New York Volunteer Infantry arrived to man Federal Hill on July 27, 1861. The unit was outfitted in colorful Zouave unifor...