An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
In mid-July 1861, just weeks after Virginia’s formal entry into the Confederate States of America, Governor John Letcher issued a sweeping proclamation calling for the mobilization of militia forces in response to a troop requisition from Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The proclamation, dated July 13, targeted specific regions of the Commonwealth: counties north of the…
Continue reading ➞ Organizing for War: Governor John Letcher’s July 13, 1861 Militia Proclamation
During the American Civil War, Virginians found themselves divided not only by ideology and geography, but by government itself. From 1861 to 1864, two men, John Letcher and Francis Pierpont, each claimed to be the legitimate governor of Virginia. One led the Confederate state government from Richmond, while the other presided over the Unionist Reorganized…
In June 1861, just weeks after Virginia’s secession from the Union, Governor John Letcher issued a fiery proclamation to the people of Northwestern Virginia—a region increasingly resistant to Confederate alignment. His message was clear: the time for debate was over, and unity under the Confederate cause was now a matter of duty and survival. John…
Continue reading ➞ Governor Letcher’s 1861 Call to Arms: Uniting Virginia for the Confederacy
Determining precisely when Virginia joined the Confederacy is a complex issue. President Abraham Lincoln’s administration maintained that the Union was "indivisible" and that secession was illegal. According to this view, a state could not leave the Union under any circumstances. Therefore, those taking up arms against the federal government were considered rebels or insurrectionists, while…
John Letcher, governor of Virginia, 1860–1864. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division The following proclamation by the Virginia governor, John Letcher (1813-1884), appeared in the Richmond Whig, Thursday, April 18, 1861, as well as other newspapers around the state in response to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's calling for a volunteer army to suppress the…
Continue reading ➞ A PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
While staunch unionists were rare among Virginia's political class, opinions differed on the secession question. The events of early 1861, however, would push nearly all of them into the same camp. When the Civil War broke out, Virginia had one sitting governor and eight living ex-governors. All owned slaves, though their opinions on slavery and…
Continue reading ➞ How Did Virginia’s Governors Respond to Secession?
Spirit of '61 