Congress of the Confederate States a state. Following elections held in states, refugee colonies and army camps in November 1861, the 1st Confederate Congress met in four sessions. The 1863 elections led to many former Democrats losing to former Whigs. The 2nd Confederate Congress met in two sessions following an intercession during military campaign season beginning November 7, 1864 and ending on March 18, 1865, shortly before the downfall of the Confederacy. All legislative considerations of the Confederate Congress were secondary to winning the war for independence from the United States. These included debates whether to pass Jefferson Davis war measures and deliberations on alternatives
Economy of the Confederate States of America war effort. With legislation authorizing "impressment" (commandeering) that same year, railroads and their rolling stock came under "de facto" control of the military. At the beginning of the war (1861), the Northern states included 20,000 miles of railroad while the Confederate states had 9,000 miles (1,700 miles total in the three border states of Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland). The Confederate Army of the Shenandoah used their railroad system effectively at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) on July 21, 1861. Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of