Georgia's Ordinance of Secession was adopted at the Georgia Secession Convention of 1861. It was put to the vote on January 19, 1861; concluding at 2:00 p.m. (the vote was 208 in favor of immediate secession with 89 opposed). Prior to signing the ordinance, Eugenius A. Nisbet tabled a motion suggesting that the ordinance should be signed by all of the convention's delegates, irrespective of their vote – as a pledge of support and to signal a unified purpose. Nisbet's motion passed, and at 12 o'clock M., Convention President, George W. Crawford, announced that the hour had arrived for signing the Ordinance of Secession.

Quick Facts Ordinance of Secession, Created ...

Ordinance of Secession
Facsimile of the 1861 Ordinance of Secession signed by 293 delegates to the Georgia Secession Convention at the statehouse in Milledgeville, Georgia January 21, 1861
Created	c. January 20, 1861
Ratified	Put to the vote on January 19, 1861 – 208 yeas 89 nays; signed on January 21, 1861, by 293 delegates; enacted January 22, 1861
Location	Engrossed copy: University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Library
Author(s)	George W. Crawford et al. Engrosser: H. J. G. Williams
Signatories	293 delegates to The Georgia Secession Convention of 1861
Purpose	To announce Georgia's formal intent to secede from the Union.

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Crawford signed the ordinance; becoming its first signatory, and then he instructed Secretary Lamar to "call the delegates forward, by county, to sign the ordinance." Some delegates withheld signing; with six delegates insisting that a protest be incorporated into the ordinance. The list below shows the delegate's name, (as it was recorded on the convention's roster), the county which they represent, whether they had signed the ordinance or not, and how they had voted when the ordinance passed.^[1]

Quick Facts George Walker Crawford ...

George Walker Crawford
Portrait of George W. Crawford, elected Permanent President of the Georgia Secession Convention; leading the delegation as the first to sign Georgia's Ordinance of Secession.

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Quick Facts Robert Toombs ...

Robert Toombs
Portrait of Robert Toombs, elected a delegate at-large to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Howell Cobb ...

Howell Cobb
Portrait of Howell Cobb, elected a delegate at-large to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Francis S. Bartow ...

Francis S. Bartow
Portrait of Francis S. Bartow, elected a delegate from district 1 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861—Bartow died July 21, 1861, at First Battle of Manassas.

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Quick Facts Martin J. Crawford ...

Martin J. Crawford
Portrait of Martin J. Crawford, elected a delegate from district 2 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Eugenius A. Nisbet ...

Eugenius A. Nisbet
Portrait of Eugenius A. Nisbet, elected a delegate from district 3 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Benjamin Harvey Hill ...

Benjamin Harvey Hill
Portrait of Benjamin H. Hill, elected a delegate from district 4 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Augustus Romaldus Wright ...

Augustus Romaldus Wright
Portrait of Augustus R. Wright, elected a delegate from district 5 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb ...

Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb
Portrait of Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, elected a delegate from district 6 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861-T.R.R. Cobb died at the Battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862.

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Quick Facts Augustus H. Kenan ...

Augustus H. Kenan
Portrait of Augustus H. Kenan, elected a delegate from district 7 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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Quick Facts Alexander H. Stephens ...

Alexander H. Stephens
Portrait of Alexander H. Stephens, elected a delegate from district 8 to the Southern Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861.

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