He served as member of the secession convention in 1861 at Richmond.

These military moves were ordered on January 8, 1861, before the secession convention.

He served as delegate to the secession convention in 1861.

In East Tennessee, the margin against the secession convention had been 33,000 to 7,000.

He participated in the secession convention that met at Austin on January 31, 1861.

Suddenly convinced that other states would follow , the legislature moved the secession convention up to December.

Davis ran to become a delegate to the Secession Convention but was defeated.

He used his paper and political clout to call for a secession convention following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860.

The secession convention met in Charleston December 20, 1860.

In February 1861, fifty-four percent of the state's voters voted against sending delegates to a secession convention.