Battle of Fort Sumter
Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Caruthers was a delegate to the Washington Peace Convention in February 1861, which sought to find a peaceful resolution to the sectional strife between the North and South. He remained pro-Union until the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861, after which he aligned himself with the Confederacy. In August 1861, he resigned from the court to represent Tennessee in the Provisional Confederate Congress.