Middletown Considers Secession

Two of the candidates for the Virginia Convention from Frederick County had tickets printed for the use of voters on February 4, 1861.

Courtesy of Library of Virginia

The spring of 1861 was a tumultuous time. Americans struggled to decide their course forward. Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the presidential election of 1860 had led many across the south to advocate for secession. Virginia moved more slowly towards it than other states. In the small Shenandoah Valley town of Middletown, everyday people had to decide what they thought their state should do as well as what they would do personally.

A Special Convention

In early 1861 the Virginia General Assembly called for a special convention to consider the question of whether the state would secede. In February, counties selected delegates through elections. Frederick County voters chose two delegates that supported remaining in the United States. Though in the end the convention voted in favor of secession, the Frederick County delegates had voted against it. On May 23, 1861 voters across Virginia went to the polls to approve or deny secession. In Frederick County as a whole, the vote to approve secession was 1,503 to 360.

Middletown Decides

Newly transcribed documents offer us a window into the way voters in Middletown thought about the secession debate. Much of the information comes from the Southern Claims Commission, where citizens could apply for payment for property taken by the United States army. Claimants had to prove they were loyal to the United States and did not support secession. One way claimants did that was by telling officials about the election in Middletown.

Middletown voters had elected the pro-Union candidates but then the vote to ratify secession “was unanimous” in favor of it. It is likely that many voters were influenced by the fight at Fort Sumter and Lincoln raising troops to suppress the rebellion. Yet, sources also show that pro-Union voters were threatened and did not feel it was safe to vote.

"I know it was not safe..."

At that time, votes were not secret. A voter’s name was recorded in a poll book by a clerk along with what they voted for. When a group of men came into town to vote, one had intended to vote against secession. However, he was threatened and changed his vote. Dr. Shipley testified that “I know it was not safe for any one to express Union Sentiments, in this County from the time the ordinance of Secession was passed until the County was occupied by Union Soldiers.”

Other local residents stated they had not voted at all and had avoided going to the voting station. They did not think it was safe to vote for Union but also could not bring themselves to vote for secession. Residents of nearby Strasburg stated secessionists stopped buying from their business or continued threats against them throughout the war because of their support for Union.

Unionism in the Valley

These stories remind us that the Civil War did not cleanly divide people along the Mason-Dixon line. Many people in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as specifically in Middletown, opposed secession from the very beginning. Throughout the war, some of them faced social exclusion or threats because they opposed it, refused to serve in the Confederate Army, or helped United States Soldiers. Other local examples of Unionism include the divided loyalties of the Heater Family and the resiliency of the Foster-Petty Family.