On December 20, 1860 South Carolina seceedes from the United States. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas soon followed South Carolina in seceeding from the U.S. Delegates from the seven seceeded states formed the Confederate States of America in February, 1861. After the Battle of Ft. Sumter, four more states seceeded to join the Confederacy: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Nouth Carolina. Kentucky and Missouri were split on a vote to join the Confederacy until the Battle of Gettysburg, the states realized how badly it hurt them so on a new referendum, the two states seceeded and officially joined the Confederacy in mid-1864.