North Carolina Unionists and the Fight Over Secession

by Steve M. Miller

Before the Civil War, North Carolina was divided by the battle over secession. Some state leaders remained loyal to the Union because they saw the potential for compromise with Northern states. William Alexander Graham helped broker the Compromise of 1850. John Motley Morehead and Jonathan Worth led the campaign against secession in early 1861. Most continued to serve their state under the Confederacy. Although Zebulon B. Vance opposed secession, he served in the Confederate army and as governor of the state during the Civil War. Historian and author Steve M. Miller tells the story of the Tar Heel Unionists who bravely fought to steer their state away from the disastrous future they foresaw.

144 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2019

Reviews

[Lewis Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having viewed the displays on the history of the Civil War at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, NC I became aware of the resistance to the war by a number of cultural, political, religious, and social groups that opposed disunion and slavery. I picked up North Carolina Unionists and the Fight Over Secession hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the people involved with the resistance, some of which was quite substantial throughout the war, unfortunately this book focussed primarily on the political actors in the variety of parties in the early 1800's, which was often dry and not what I was interested in. That said I think it provided a good history of the lives of these often ardent unionists and their efforts to maintain the Union, while working within the Confederacy. Not an easy task.