Prior Event 12/8/1860 Next Event Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, resigns believing that secession is inevitable. [restored 1/17/2025] Subsequent Events: 12/18/1860 12/20/1860 12/29/1860 2/22/1861 References: Bruce Catton, The Civil War, (New York: American Heritage, 1960; Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1987), 282. SEARCH Current U.s. National Debt: $36,217,480,035,223 Source