Secession Convention Proceedings

On February 13, 1861, delegates representing all counties in Virginia met to decide how the state would respond to recent events, especially Abraham Lincoln's election and South Carolina's secession. They voted to remain in the Union and hoped that a compromise could be reached to defuse the situation. Two months later, the same men voted to secede from the United States, sparking a radically different war than might otherwise have taken place.

This is a digital version of the four-volume Proceedings of the Virginia Convention of 1861 published by the Library of Virginia in 1965.

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