February 23, 1861
- Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington after the discovery of a potential assassination attempt that was to have taken place as the Lincoln party traversed Baltimore. The President-elect’s clandestine journey is lampooned by a number of newspaper cartoonists, who inflate wild rumors that he was disguised as a Scotsman.
- Texas citizens ratify the actions of the secessionist convention, voting to secede, 34,794 to 11,235