On this date 150 years ago, a State Covention in Arkansas turned down a move to secede 39-35, but agreed to an election later in the summer which would allow for public voting on the secession question.

While Confederate President Jefferson Davis hoped that Federal troops under Major Robert Anderson would withdraw, he nevertheless communicated with Governor Pickens concerning the fortification of the area around Charleston, South Carolina. Davis pointed out that it was unlikely that "the enemy would retire peacefully from your harbor."