Union Sentiment in Border States
UNION SENTIMENT IN BORDER STATES
UNION SENTIMENT IN BORDER STATES. After the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, a large majority of the people of Maryland, western Virginia, and Missouri rallied to the Union cause, and by September, Kentucky also openly sided with the North in its struggle against the secessionist South. Unionist sentiment ran strongest in the cities and in communities accessible to railroads and navigable rivers. Confederate sympathizers emerged as a significant minority faction in some areas of the border states, particularly among slave-holders. Although much harassed by Confederate raids and guerrilla bands, the border states contributed heavily in men to the Union armies and played a major role in the Confederacy's defeat.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Donald, David Herbert. Why the North Won the Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960.
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
E. C.Smith/a. g.
See alsoArmy, Union ; Cumberland, Army of the ; Impressment, Confederate ; Jayhawkers ; Mosby's Rangers ; Tennessee, Army of .