The 11 Confederate States: Complete List & Secession Order

The Confederate States of America comprised 11 states that seceded from the Union between December 1860 and June 1861, triggering the American Civil War. Here they are in order of secession:

1. South Carolina – December 20, 1860
2. Mississippi – January 9, 1861
3. Florida – January 10, 1861
4. Alabama – January 11, 1861
5. Georgia – January 19, 1861
6. Louisiana – January 26, 1861
7. Texas – February 1, 1861
8. Virginia – April 17, 1861 (after Fort Sumter)
9. Arkansas – May 6, 1861
10. North Carolina – May 20, 1861
11. Tennessee – June 8, 1861 (last to secede)

Key Context

• Montgomery, Alabama served as first Confederate capital (Feb-May 1861)
• Richmond, Virginia became capital thereafter
• Four slave states did not secede: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri (border states)
• West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863 to rejoin the Union
• The Confederacy claimed Kentucky and Missouri but never controlled them

Post-War

All 11 states were readmitted to the Union between 1866-1870 during Reconstruction. The "Lost Cause" mythology emerged later, but the secession documents explicitly cite slavery preservation as the primary motive.