Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia in the American Civil War The Commonwealth of Virginia became a prominent part of the Confederate States of America when it joined the Confederacy during the American Civil War. As a Southern slave-holding state, Virginia held a state convention to deal with the secession crisis, and voted against secession on April 4, 1861. Opinion shifted after April 15, when U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union to put down the rebellion, following the capture of Fort Sumter, and the Virginia convention voted to declare secession from the Union. A Unionist government was
Commemoration of the American Civil War The day-long meetings included panelists of note on topics that correlate to the circumstances leading up to, during and post-Civil War period. 2009 is "America on the Eve of the Civil War;" 2010: "Race, Slavery and the Civil War;" 2011: "Military Strategy;" 2012: "Leadership and Generalship in the Civil War;" 2013: "The Civil War at Home;" 2014: "The American Civil War in a Global Context;" 2015: "The Causes Won and Lost." The events may be by registered attendance at an academic center in Virginia or are available on DVD for purchase. Individual speaker presentations are approximately fifteen minutes in length.