Virginia in the American Civil War
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Virginia began a convention about secession on February 13, 1861 after six states seceded to form the Confederate States of America on February 4. The convention deliberated for several months, but, on April 15 Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union in response to the firing on Fort Sumter. On April 17, 1861 the convention voted to secede. The vote was 88 to 55 in favor of secession.[1] Among those in favor of secession was former U.S. President John Tyler, and among those against secession was Jubal Early.[2] However, after the formal vote delegates were allowed to change their votes. The final tally was 103 to 46 in favor of secession.[3]With the entry of Virginia into the Confederacy, the decision to move the Confederate capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond was made on May 6 and enacted on May 29. Virginians ratified the articles of secession on May 23.[1] The following day, the Union army moved into northern Virginia and captured Alexandria without a fight.
The first major battle of the Civil War occurred on July 21, 1861. Union forces attempted to take control of the railroad junction at Manassas for use as a supply line, but the Confederate Army had moved its forces by train to meet the Union. The Confederates won the First Battle of Manassas (known as "Bull Run"in Northern naming convention) and the year went on without a major fight.
The first and last significant battles were held in Virginia. The first being the Battle of Manassas and the last being Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. During the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederate States of America. The White House of the Confederacy, located a few blocks north of the State Capital, was home to the family of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
In April of 1865, Richmond was burned by a retreating Confederate Army and was returned to Northern control. Virginia was administered as the "First Military District" during the Reconstruction period (1865-1870) under General John Schofield. The state formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870.
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[edit] Industrialization
Various textile production was present prior to 1861 but nothing of great significance. A center of iron production during the civil war was located in Richmond at Tredegar Iron Works. Tredegar was run partially by slave labor, and it produced most of the artillery for the war, making Richmond an important point to defend.
[edit] West Virginia split
The 47 delegates from what eventually became West Virginia voted 32 to 15 against secession.[4] Some of those delegates and other Unionists in western Virginia formed an alternative government, the Restored Government of Virginia, in the city of Wheeling. On August 20, 1861 this government granted itself permission to form a new state, eventually named West Virginia, and presented an application for statehood to the U.S. Congress which consisted of 48 counties of Virginia, nearly half of which had voted for secession.[5] On June 20, 1863, West Virginia was formally admitted to the Union. Two more counties were added in 1863, Jefferson and Berkeley. These had not been part of the original Statehood bill, and Virginia attempted reclamation in a suit before the United States Supreme Court. In December, 1870, the court ruled in favor of West Virginia.[6]
With the formation of West Virginia, Virginia no longer shared a border with Pennsylvania. Even in the 20th century, there were still some disputes about the precise location of the border in some of the northern mountain reaches of Virginia between Loudoun County and Jefferson County, West Virginia. In 1991, both state legislatures appropriated money for a boundary commission to look into 15 miles of the border area. [2]
See also article West Virginia in the Civil War
[edit] Notable (Confederate) leaders from Virginia
 Robert E. Lee |
 Thomas J. Jackson |
 J. E. B. Stuart |
 Joseph E. Johnston |
 A. P. Hill |
 Richard S. Ewell |
 Jubal A. Early |
 George Pickett |
 Edward Johnson |
 Fitzhugh Lee |
 Lewis A. Armistead |
 John Letcher |
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Virginia's Decision", Virginia Civil War Commission, Richmond, 1964, pg. 11
- ^ ibid., pgs. 14-15
- ^ "Civil War and Reconstruction", by J.G. Randall, D. C. Heath and Company, 1966
- ^ "A History of West Virginia", Charles Ambler, Prentice-Hall, 1933, pg. 309
- ^ "A House Divided", Richard Orr Curry, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1964, pgs. 141-149
- ^ "History and Government of West Virginia", Virgil A. Lewis, Jim Comstock, 1973, pgs. 190-192
[edit] See also
- Richmond in the Civil War
- Winchester in the Civil War
- Virginia Units in the Civil War
- Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum
- Army of Northern Virginia
[edit] External links
- National Park Service map of Civil War sites in Virginia: 1861-62
- National Park Service map of Civil War sites in Virginia: 1863
- National Park Service map of Civil War sites in Virginia: 1864
- National Park Service map of Civil War sites in Virginia: 1865
