On June 20, 1863, the United States government created a new state from 50 western counties of Virginia to be named "West Virginia". This was done on behalf of a Unionist government in Wheeling, Virginia, approved by Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, though it was done with a low participation of the citizens within the new state.Rice, Otis K., Stephen W. Brown, West Virginia, A History, Univ. of Kentucky Press, 1993, pg. 140

There remained a large number of counties and citizens who still considered themselves as part of Virginia and the Confederacy which, in turn, considered the new state as part of Virginia and the Confederacy. In 1861 the 50 counties contained a population of 355,544 whites, 2,782 freemen, 18,371 slaves, 79,515 voters and 67,721 men of military age (16–40 years old).Population of the United States in 1860; Compiled from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census West Virginia was the 6th most contested state during the war, with 632 battles, engagements, actions and skirmishes.Dyer, Frederick H., A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Dyer Publishing Co., 1908, pg. 582

Although considered a loyal Union state by the Federal government, half of its soldiers were enlisted in the Confederate army; it was the only border state which did not give most of its soldiers to the Union.Snell, Mark A., West Virginia and the Civil War, History Press, 2011, pg. 28 While the Union army held much of the territory of the new state, large sections remained in the hands of guerrillas and bushwhackers. The Union army remained in West Virginia until 1869, and had dealt with civil unrest through 1868.Journal of the Senate of the State of West Virginia for the Sixth Session, Commencing January 21, 1868, John Frew, Wheeling, 1861, pg. 10

Richmond convention

When the Richmond convention voted on April 17, 1861, to secede from the United States most of the delegates from the counties which became West Virginia voted against it; 32 against, 13 in favor, and 4 absent or abstained. The convention adjourned on May 1, to reconvene in June. With the movement of Union troops into West Virginia on May 26 the conditional Unionists threw their support to Virginia. Many delegates who had voted against the ordinance returned to the convention in June and signed it. Of the 49 delegates 29, representing 36 counties, signed the ordinance.How Virginia Convention Delegates Voted on Secession, April 4 and April 17, 1861, and Whether They Signed a Copy of the Ordinance of Secession Benjamin Wilson, a delegate from Harrison County, was arrested at his home in Clarksburg in June and could not return, though he had previously signed the ordinance in April.Hall, Granville D., The Rending of Virginia, A History, Mayer & Miller, Chicago, 1902, pg. 155 Some delegates, such as George Berlin of Upshur County, became refugees and settled in the Shenandoah Valley and other areas of Virginia beyond Union lines.Tarter, Brent, Daydreams & Nightmares, A Virginia Family Faces Secession and War, Univ. of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, 2015 Burwell Spurlock of Wayne County was one of the last to sign the ordinance in November. A number of delegates entered Confederate service; Samuel Woods, John Echols, Franklin P. Turner, Napoleon B. French, Johnson Orrick, Alpheus F. Haymond, Currence B. Conrad, and Benjamin W. Byrne, among others.

Five of the delegates who didn't sign the ordinance eventually ran afoul of the Union government in Wheeling. Sherrard Clemens actively campaigned against the new state and faced threats of violence and arrest.Curry, Richard O. Curry, A House Divided, A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1964, pgs. 127–128 In October 1861 Marshall M. Dent was indicted for treason by a grand jury in Wheeling."Indictment Against M.M. Dent", Daily Intelligencer, October 18, 1861 Although the charges were not pursued his reputation among Unionists was ruined and he eventually closed his Morgantown newspaper, The Virginia Evening Star, the following January and ended his political career. John Jay Jackson, Sr. did not attend the second Wheeling convention or support the Pierpont government, but called it "a usurped government...founded in force"."Letter from General J.J. Jackson", The Crisis, May 14, 1862 John Carlile, who had been the most ardent "new state" delegate, used his position as a senator of Virginia to derail the statehood bill in the senate, but failed. He continued in his role as a Virginia senator after the creation of West Virginia in 1863, but in 1864 he was arrested for treason on the direct order of President Lincoln.Curry, Richard O. Curry, A House Divided, A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1964, pgs. 102–105Marvel, William, Tarnished Victory, Finishing Lincoln's War, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, pg. 48 George W. Summers, who resigned from the convention at the end of the first session in May, addressed the militia in Charleston on June 8, 1861, and urged that they unite as one "...to defend old Virginia until every invader is driven from her soil."Richmond Enquirer, June 18, 1861

Secession sentiment in West Virginia

West Virginia was created out of three regions of Virginia; the Northwest, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Southwest.Sheehan-Dean, Aaron, Why Confederates Fought, Family & Nation in Civil War Virginia, Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2007, pg. 22 When secession from the United States became an issue for Virginia, there was little support for it in the counties bordering the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, but there was more support in the central and southern counties of what became West Virginia.

In January 1861 the first secession flag in West Virginia flew above the courthouse in Philippi, Barbour County. Described as a "palmetto" flag, it was captured in the Battle of Philippi on June 3, 1861. A secession flag also flew above the courthouse in neighboring Tucker County, and another was raised in Guyandotte, Cabell County, which was termed a "secession hole" by Union newspapers in Wheeling, and was later burned by Union troops. On May 14, the "stars and bars" was raised above the courthouse in Logan County.

There were public meetings of "Southern Rights" supporters in at least 21 Northwestern counties. On April 26, 1861, former governor Joseph Johnson chaired such a meeting in Clarksburg. Secessionists were active in Jackson, Ritchie, Harrison, Wood, Wayne, Kanawha, Cabell, Taylor, Upshur, Marion, although these counties voted against the secession ordinance. Altogether 24 of the 50 counties in the new state voted in favor of secession. The secession counties held 40% of the population and two-thirds of the territory of the new state. Results of the May 23, 1861 vote on Virginia's secession ordinance has been estimated at 19,121 to 20,031 in favor of secession and 33,565 to 34,677 against secession.Curry, Richard O., A House Divided, A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia, Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1964, pgs. 46–54; pgs. 146–147

This resulted in a large area of West Virginia that was supportive of the Richmond government and the Confederacy. Union support eroded in some border counties when Union troops invaded western Virginia on May 26, 1861, just days after the vote on the secession ordinance. In the northwestern counties of West Virginia most enrolled 25% of their eligible men in Confederate units, many in excess of 50%.Sheehan-Dean, Aaron, Why Confederates Fought, Family & Nation in Civil War Virginia, Univ. of N. Carolina Press, 2007, pg. 210, note 35 Putnam County, for example, was reported to have voted 944 to 202 against the secession ordinance, but when recruitment began it gave half of its soldiers to the Confederacy.Sullivan, Ken (ed.), The West Virginia Encyclopedia, West Virginia Humanities Council, 2006, pg. 592 A similar situation occurred in the counties of Cabell, Kanawha and Wayne.Scott A. MacKenzie Voting with Their Arms Civil War Military Enlistments and the Formation of West Virginia, 1861–1865 One factor hindering Unionism was "state pride" and resistance to outside interference in Virginia's affairs. One Ohio newspaper observed-

County courts in Jackson, Fayette, Hampshire, Monroe, Gilmer, Pocahontas, and Raleigh levied funds to arm militia for the defense of Virginia. When Gov. Letcher called out the militia there was no response from the counties along the northwestern border. The 107th Regiment of Randolph and Tucker counties were under the command of Gen. Robert S. Garnett, but after his death it disbanded. Two companies of the 119th Regiment of Taylor County responded, and later became part of the 31st Virginia Infantry and the 25th Virginia Infantry. Various companies of the 186th Regiment of Calhoun County became guerilla units or companies of Partisan Rangers in 1862 under the enactment of the Partisan Ranger Act.Wallace, Lee A., Jr., A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861–1865, Virginia Civil War Commission, 1964, pgs. 277–281; pgs. 294–296; pgs. 298–299 When the 141st militia of Jackson County was mustered at the courthouse and was told by their colonel that he was recruiting for the Union two-thirds of the men refused the call.Matheny, H.E., Wood County, West Virginia, in Civil War Times, with an Account of the Guerrilla Warfare in the Little Kanawha Valley, Trans-Allegheny Books, 1987, pg. 113 The militia in the southern and Valley counties mostly responded to the governor's call. During Brig. Gen. Henry A. Wise's Kanawha campaign of late 1861 a brigade of militia under the command of Brig. Generals Alfred Beckley and Augustus A. Chapman was reported at a strength of 2,000 men.Official Records of the War of Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 51, Part 2, pg. 266

Confederate leaders Military

Sixteen Confederate general officers were either born in or living in the state at the time of the war. Three of these officers were in command of Virginia militia; Alfred Beckley, James Boggs, and Augustus A. Chapman. The most senior general was Stonewall Jackson of Clarksburg, who achieved the rank of Lt.-General before his death in 1863. In 1861 he had requested assignment to western Virginia, which he described as "bleeding at every pore", but was refused and remained stationed in the Shenandoah Valley. His brigade contained thirteen companies of West Virginia volunteers.

Generals Albert G. Jenkins of Cabell County and William Lowther Jackson of Wood County were frequently engaged in actions within the state, raiding behind Union lines for material and recruits. Jenkins was killed at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain in 1864. John McCausland of Mason County became notorious in the north for his actions in Chambersburg, Pa., which resulted in the burning of the town in 1864. John Echols of Monroe County became a Lt. Col. and was placed in command of the 27th Virginia Infantry, half of whose men came from West Virginia. Later, as a brigadier-general, he would be placed in command of a brigade which included many West Virginia volunteers. Edwin Gray Lee of Jefferson County, a cousin of Robert E. Lee, served on the staff of Stonewall Jackson before becoming Lt.-Col. of the 33rd Virginia Infantry. In 1864 he was promoted to brig-general, but left the service due to ill-health soon after.