It is rather a matter of surprise that of 161,000 votes cast in Virginia on the question, 32,000 were registered against secession.

These friends of the Government were, it is true, in large part from the western section of the State where slaves were few and the loyal sentiment was strong.

It is an interesting fact that along the mountain range through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and even as far South as Georgia, the inhabitants generally sympathized with the Union.
Though often forced to aid the Rebellion, they were at heart loyal to the government of their fathers, and on many important occasions rendered the most valuable service to the National cause.

The devotion of large numbers in East Tennessee to the Federal Government seriously embarrassed the new Confederacy.

The remaining slave States, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, gave trouble to the administration, but did not succeed in separating themselves from the Union.