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
Conclusion of the American Civil War the American Civil War. "Shenandoah" had so far captured and burned eleven ships of the American whaling fleet while in Arctic waters. Waddell finally learned of Lee's surrender on June 27 when the captain of the prize "Susan & Abigail" produced a newspaper from San Francisco. The same paper contained Confederate President Jefferson Davis's proclamation that the "war would be carried on with re-newed vigor". "Shenandoah" proceeded to capture a further ten whalers in the following seven hours. Wadell then steered "Shenandoah" south, intending to raid the port of San Francisco which he believed to be poorly defended. En route