The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a unicameral congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States from February 4, 1861, to February 17, 1862. It sat in Montgomery, Alabama, until May 21, 1861, when it adjourned to meet in Richmond, Virginia, on July 20, 1861. In both cities, it met in the existing state capitols which it shared with the respective secessionist state legislatures. It added new members as other states seceded from the Union and directed the election on November 6, 1861, at which a permanent government was elected.
First Session
The First Session of the Provisional Congress was held at Montgomery from February 4, 1861, to March 16, 1861. Members were present from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. It drafted a provisional constitution and set up a government. For president and vice president, it selected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia.
Constitutional Convention
The Confederate States Constitutional Convention was held at Montgomery from February 28, 1861, to March 11, 1861.
Second Session
The Second Session of the Provisional Congress was held at Montgomery from April 29, 1861, to May 21, 1861. Members were present from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Arkansas.
Third Session
The Third Session of the Provisional Congress was held at Richmond from July 20, 1861, to August 31, 1861. Members were present from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Fourth Session
The Fourth Session of the Provisional Congress was held at Richmond on September 3, 1861. Members were present from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Fifth Session
The Fifth Session of the Provisional Congress was held at Richmond from November 18, 1861, to February 17, 1862. Members were present from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. One non-voting member was present from the Arizona Territory.
Leadership
President: Howell Cobb
Members
Deputies
Deputies from the first seven states to secede formed the first two sessions of the Congress.
Alabama
Richard W. Walker
Robert H. Smith
Colin J. McRae
John Gill Shorter (resigned November 1861) Cornelius Robinson (took his seat on April 29, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy; resigned January 24, 1862) W. P. Chilton Stephen F. Hale David P. Lewis (resigned April 29, 1861) Nic. Davis, Jr. (took his seat on April 29, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy) Thomas Fearn (resigned April 29, 1861) H. C. Jones (took his seat on April 29, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy) J. L. M. Curry
Florida
J. Patton Anderson (resigned April 8, 1861) George Taliaferro Ward (took his seat on May 2, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy; resigned February 5, 1862) John Pease Sanderson (took his seat on February 5, 1862 – Appointed to fill vacancy) James B. Owens Jackson Morton (took his seat on February 6, 1861)
Georgia
Robert Toombs
Howell Cobb
F. S. Bartow (killed July 21, 1861 at the First Battle of Bull Run) Thomas Marsh Forman (took his seat on August 7, 1861 – Appointed to fill vacancy) M. J. Crawford E. A. Nisbet (resigned December 10, 1861) Nathan Henry Bass, Sr. (took his seat on January 14, 1862 – Appointed to fill vacancy) B. H. Hill A. R. Wright T. R. R. Cobb A. H. Kenan A. H. Stephens
Louisiana
John Perkins, Jr. Alexander de Clouet Charles M. Conrad Duncan F. Kenner Edward Sparrow Henry Marshall
Mississippi
A. M. Clayton (resigned May 11, 1861) Alexander Blackburn Bradford (took his seat on December 5, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy) James T. Harrison William S. Barry J. A. P. Campbell Wiley P. Harris Walker Brooke William S. Wilson (resigned April 29, 1861) J. A. Orr (took his seat on April 29, 1861 – Elected to fill vacancy)
South Carolina
Robert Barnwell Rhett
Robert W. Barnwell
Christopher Gustavus Memminger
James Chesnut, Jr. William Porcher Miles Laurence M. Keitt Thomas J. Withers (resigned May 21, 1861 after second session) James Lawrence Orr (took his seat on February 17, 1862 – Appointed to fill vacancy) William W. Boyce