Virginia in 1861

The Old Dominion played a principal role in America’s independence from England and had a reputation as the “birthplace of presidents.” As 1861 dawned, however, would it turn its back on the country it helped create?

At the dawn of 1861, war clouds gathered over the United States. Before president-elect Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4th, seven slaveholding states voted to secede from the Union, which the incoming Lincoln Administration and others saw as an illegal act of rebellion. South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas formed the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861 and elected former United States Senator and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis as their president.

It was not a forgone conclusion that Virginia would join this fledgling Confederacy. In the presidential election of 1860, Constitutional Union candidate John Bell received 44.63 percent of the popular vote, securing all 15 of Virginia’s delegates. John C. Breckinridge, the Southern Democratic candidate favored by secessionists, came in second with 44.54 percent. Abraham Lincoln received a scant 1,887 votes.

Virginia Governor John Letcher (1813-1884) was a former U.S. Representative who, while not outspoken against secession, did not favor the idea. Former President John Tyler and he organized a peace conference in Washington, DC in February 1861, which failed to achieve its goals.

If the Confederacy had a fighting chance, it needed Virginia. The Old Dominion was, at the time, over 61,000 square miles with a total population of 1,596,318 (31 percent of which were slaves). There were 58,042 free people of color living in Virginia. If a war was to break out, Virginia could draw on over 206,170 white men between the ages of 15 and 40, who would do the bulk of the fighting.

Raw manpower wasn’t the only martial asset Virginia brought to the table. It produced some of the finest officers in America. Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, Thomas J. Jackson, Robert S. Garnett, Richard S. Ewell, and George H. Thomas all graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War. Most would side with the Confederacy. The Virginia Military Institute in Lexington also educated a generation of young officers.

Three important federal facilities were within its borders: the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal, Gosport Navy Yard, and Fort Monroe. Washington, DC also sat directly across the Potomac River. Robert E. Lee could look out across the Potomac from his home on Arlington Heights and see the U.S. Capitol in the distance.

Though Virginia remained predominantly rural, the City of Richmond had a population of nearly 38,000, with the Tredegar Iron Works, the third largest iron works in the United States at that time. Western Virginia produced much needed salt. The Shenandoah Valley not only provided large quantities of grain and foodstuffs, but pig iron as well. Virginia also had 1,673 miles of railroad tracks, including sections of the vital Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

As America was divided over the issue of slavery, however, so was Virginia. Most Virginians living west of the Allegheny Mountains and along the Ohio River had strong economic ties to Northern states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, and slavery was uncommon. In the western Virginia panhandle, less than half a percent of the population were enslaved. Wheeling, Virginia’s fourth largest city, was populated by German immigrants with no affinity for Virginia’s Anglo-American planter class. It was unclear how these Virginians would respond if the state seceded.

Delegates to Virginia’s Secession Convention initially voted against secession, hoping that a compromise could be reached and war avoided. Then came the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter off the coast of South Carolina on April 12th and President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to “suppress the rebellion” in the Deep South. Virginia was called upon to furnish troops to invade its sister states in the South. How would she respond?

Discussion

• Examine the initial resistance to secession at the Virginia Secession Convention. What factors influenced the delegates’ initial vote against secession?
• How did the differing economic and social landscapes within Virginia influence its stance on secession? Consider the contrast between the eastern and western parts of the state.
• Discuss the impact that Virginia-born military officers like Robert E. Lee had on the state’s decision to secede. What role did their allegiance play in shaping the course of the state and the war?
• Explore the strategic importance of Virginia’s location and infrastructure, such as its proximity to Washington D.C., its railroads, and military facilities. How did these factors make Virginia a significant player in the Civil War?