In theUnited States,Southern Unionists werewhite Southerners living in theConfederate States of America and the SouthernBorder States opposed to secession. Many fought for theUnion during theCivil War. These people are also referred to asSouthern Loyalists,Union Loyalists,[1] orLincoln's Loyalists.[2] Pro-Confederates in theSouth derided them as "Tories" (in reference to thepro-Crown Loyalists of theAmerican Revolution). DuringReconstruction, these terms were replaced by "scalawag" (or "scallywag"), which covered all Southern whites who supported theRepublican Party.
Tennessee (especiallyEast Tennessee),Kentucky,Maryland,Missouri,Delaware,North Carolina, andVirginia (which includedWest Virginia at that time) were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Other (primarilyAppalachian) areas with significant Unionist influence includedNorth Alabama,North Georgia,Western North Carolina, theTexas Hill Country, northernLoudoun County in Virginia,North Mississippi,North Texas, theArkansasOzarks,[3] and theBoston Mountains in Arkansas.[4] These areas provided thousands of volunteers for Union military service. Western North Carolinians, for example, formed their own loyalist infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, while West Virginians formed a newUnion state admitted in 1863.
The termSouthern Unionist, and its variations, incorporate a spectrum of beliefs and actions. Some, such as Texas governorSam Houston, were vocal in their support of Southern interests, but believed that those interests could best be maintained by remaining in the Union as it existed. Some Unionists initially opposed secession (especially in the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia), but after it came, served in theConfederate armies, or supported the Confederacy in other ways, usually out of a sense of duty to their states. Others refused to fight, went or stayed north to enlist in theUnion Army, forming dedicated Unionist units, or launchedinsurgencies behind Confederate lines. Some remained in the South and tried to stay neutral. The term could also be used for any Southerner who worked with theRepublican Party or Union government in any capacity after the war ended in 1865.
A study of Southern Unionists in Alabama who continued to support the Union during the war found that they were typically "old fashioned" or conservative"Jackson" Democrats, or formerWhigs, who viewed the federal government as worthy of defending because it had provided economic and political security. They saw secession as dangerous, illegitimate, and contrary to the intentions of theFounding Fathers, and believed that the Confederacy could not improve on the United States government. The desire for security was a motivation for Unionist slaveholders, who correctly predicted that secession would entail a war that the South could not win, ultimately leading to the loss of their slaves. Others saw the end of slavery as preferable to the end of the Union, or saw slavery as doomed in the long run and preferred to see itgo peacefully and be compensated for their loss than have abolition imposed by a Northern army. The Southern ideals of honor, family, and duty were as important to Unionists as to their pro-secession neighbors. They believed, however, that rebelling against the United States, which many of their ancestors had fought for in1776 and1812, was the unmanly and dishonorable act.[5]
In 2003, historianJames Alex Baggett profiled more than 1,400 Southern political activists (742 Southern Unionists, and 666Redeemers who eventually replaced them) in three regions (the Upper South, the Southeast, and the Southwest). Hecoded them as follows:
| Score | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1 | Breckinridge supporter in1860 election |
| 2 | Bell orDouglas supporter in 1860 election |
| 3 | 1860–61 opponent of secession |
| 4 | Passive wartime unionist |
| 5 | Peace party advocate |
| 6 | Active wartime unionist |
| 7 | PostwarNational Union Party supporter |
Baggett claimed that each activist's score was roughly proportional to the probability that the activist was a Southern Unionist. Baggett further investigated the lives of those Southern Unionists before, during, and after the war, with respect to birthplace, occupation, value of estate, slave ownership, education, party activity, stand on secession, war politics, and postwar politics.[6]
Before the war there was widespread belief in the North that the states that had not yet seceded might be persuaded to stay within the Union. This idea was predicated on the fact that many believed that the newly elected President Lincoln would declare a relaxed policy toward the South that would ease tensions. Given the fact that there were a good number of Southern Unionists known to be found in the South it was hoped that this deliberate policy of non-provocation would subvert extremists from irreversible action. Admirable though their sentiments might have been, the claims of these Northerners were greatly embellished. In fact, there were fewer Unionists in the South than many Northerners believed, and they tended to be concentrated in areas such as northwest Virginia,[7]East Tennessee, and parts of North Carolina where slave owners and slaves themselves were few. Furthermore, in the states that had already seceded, irreversible action had already taken place; federal buildings, mints, and courthouses had been seized.
Many Southern soldiers remained loyal when their states seceded.[8] During the war, many Southern Unionists went North and joined the Union armies. Others joined when Union armies entered their hometowns in Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and elsewhere. Around 100,000 Southern Unionists served in theUnion Army during the Civil War, with every Southern state exceptSouth Carolina raising official organizations of white troops.[9] Though no regiments of Southern Unionists were formed in South Carolina due to a smaller unionist presence, theUpstate region of the state would be a haven for Confederate Army deserters and resisters, as they used the Upstate topography and traditional community relations to resist service in the Confederate ranks.[10]
| State | White soldiers serving in the Union Army (other branches unlisted) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 2,700[11] |
| Arkansas | 9,000[12] |
| Florida | 1,000[13][14] |
| Georgia | 2,500[citation needed] |
| Louisiana | 5,000-10,000[15][16] |
| Mississippi | 545[17] |
| North Carolina | 10,000[18] |
| Tennessee | 31,000[19] |
| Texas | 2,000[20] |
| Virginia and West Virginia | 21,000–23,000[21] |
The Southern Unionists were referred to inHenry Clay Work's song "Marching Through Georgia":
Yes and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears,
When they saw the honored flag they had not seen for years;
Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in cheers,
While we were marching through Georgia.
Southern Unionists were extensively used as anti-guerrilla forces and as occupation troops in areas of the Confederacy occupied by the Union.Ulysses S. Grant noted:[22]
We had many regiments of brave and loyal men who volunteered under great difficulty from the twelve million belonging to the South.
except South Carolina.
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