Union Sentiment in The South

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UNION SENTIMENT IN THE SOUTH

UNION SENTIMENT IN THE SOUTH, widespread throughout the Civil War but strongest in the mountainous parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Many residents in these states loved the Union and viewed secession with dismay. Many previously loyal Confederates, disaffected by Confederate conscription, impressment, and tax-in-kind laws, came to prefer the Union to the heavy-handed Richmond administration.

Unionists organized themselves into secret peace societies to provide mutual protection, render aid to Union troops, and weaken Confederate forces. By burning bridges, encouraging desertion, and transmitting military information to the enemy, these societies greatly embarrassed the Confederate government and compelled it to use a part of its strength in controlling its own disaffected citizens.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thomas, Emory M. Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.

Richard E.Yates/c. w.

See alsoImpressment, Confederate ; States' Rights in the Confederacy .

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