Richard E. Dixon takes me to task for writing "Francis Pierpont's
government had some support in 1865," on the basis of which I conclude that
"there was a considerable range of commitment to the union vis-a-vis
commitment to the state by the mid-19th century."
My point is two fold. First, Pierpont was duly elected by the Wheeling
convention in 1861--so he had some considerable support in 1861. When West
Virignia seceded, she took with her roughly 1/3 of Virginia's population.
By 1865 fighting across much of Northern Virginia and the Valley alienated
considerable numbers of folk who, at the beginning of the war, had been
loyal to the Union. So--my second point--the fact that Pierpont had some
residual support in 1865, in those Virginia counties which remained with
the Confederacy, is suggestive. It seems to me to support my contention
that the range of loyalty was broad and divergent in Virginia. Even after
local circumstances elicited considerable resentment of Federal armies and
other representatives of the Federal government, Pierpont had his
supporters.
The story of secession in Virginia is a fascinating one, and to my mind
anyway ill represented in the literature. I have not found anything that
works well in the class room. Does anyone have a suggestion for an article
or chapter length treatment?
All my best,
Kevin R. Hardwick
> The issue of loyalty to the Union is ill supported by an example of the
> Pierpont government. This was the "restored government" established by the
> Wheeling Convention which served as a front for the legal fiction that
> Virginia had approved the division of the state to create the new state of
> West Virginia. It was elected by the counties that later became the state
> of West Virginia and during the war operated in Alexandria behind the
> federal lines. It moved to Richmond in 1865 when the city was occupied by
> Federal troops. The issue of how to categorize loyalty to the Union
> before secession is more difficult. The first secession vote in Virginia
> at the time the initial seven states formed the Confederacy was
> approximately 50,000 for secession, 100,000 against secession, so
> Virginia did not participate in the formation. The General Assembly then
> passed a resolution that recognized the constitutional right of a state
> to withdraw. When it was clear that Lincoln would invade the South after
> Fort Sumter was attacked by South Carolina, the vote was essentially
> reversed with approximately 100,000 voting to secede with most of the
> opposition coming from the counties west of the Allegheny. What is also
> missing from this analysis of loyalty is the distinction between the
> attitudes of Virginians prior to the war and then after the war. Virginia
> was one of the last states to be "readmitted" under the Reconstruction
> Acts but a long and bitter period followed and it is the oral legacy of
> that experience that older residents today in the South remember from
> their family stories. Of course, during that period the heritage of the
> "lost cause" was set in place. Paradoxically, even though Virginia was
> now in the Union, its anti Union fervor influenced the remembrance of its
> prewar attitudes.
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> Richard E. Dixon
> Attorney at Law
> 4122 Leonard Drive
> Fairfax, VA 22030
> 703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978
> _____________________________________________________________________
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
--
Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of History, MSC 2001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg VA 22807
Phone: 540/568-6306
Email: [log in to unmask]
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