Virginia in the American Civil War

The Commonwealth of Virginia was a prominent part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. A state convention to deal with the secession crisis opened on February 13, 1861, only a week after seven seceding states had formed the Confederacy. The convention deliberated for several weeks, with Unionist delegates dominant, and defeated a motion to secede on April 4. Opinion shifted after April 15, when U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union in response to the Confederate capture of Fort Sumter. On April 17, the Virginia convention voted to declare secession from the Union, pending ratification of the decision by the voters.