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. Secession: Virginia and the Crisis of Union links the fully transcribed text of these debates with a wealth of contextual information, giving users the tools to ask why the men who brought the war into their own counties and neighborhoods did so.

In February 1861, delegates from every county in Virginia gathered in Richmond to vote on whether to secede from the United States.  Most delegates--and most Virginia voters--wanted to remain in the Union.  Two months later, Virginia seceded.  Begin searching to find out why.

Timelines and maps set the stage for the story of Virginia's secession.

Did Virginians know that by seceding they would bring war and destruction on their state? What role did slavery have in the decision to secede?

Secession: Virginia and the Crisis of Union is an interactive, digital edition of the Proceedings of the Virginia Convention of 1861. The Library of Virginia published a four-volume, bound version of this text in 1965.

If you're interested in a particular day of the convention, you can begin browsing the proceedings here.