Dismembering the Old Dominion: The Restored Government of Virginia, 1861-63

It is June 1861. The Commonwealth of Virginia, along with ten other states, has seceded from the Union.  In response, loyal northwestern Virginians are meeting to proclaim themselves the Restored Government of Virginia… and some have even bigger plans. The new president, Abraham Lincoln, is dedicated to preserving the Union in the face of secession, but his cabinet and Congress are full of his political rivals. And, of course, all of them are under Confederate military threat. Leaders in the Restored Government, Congress, and the executive branch must balance the goal of restoring the Union with Virginia’s specific complexities. Decisions must be made about who, exactly, the government of Virginia is; what Virginia should look like after the war; how Virginia and its loyalists can be militarily secured; and what fealty to the Constitution means. With a longstanding sectional division of its own, Virginia presents challenges beyond merely defeating the Confederacy. Decisions made here about the nature of the Union and the aims of post-war Reconstruction will shape the country for a century–and more.