Under this call, the people of Virginia repaired to the polls on the 4th
of February, 1861. Seldom, if ever, in her history had they been
summoned to an election so fraught with importance to the state and the
Union. The seven Cotton States had already seceded, and in not one where
the question had been formally acted upon had there been a decision
against secession. Only two days before, February 2d, the great State of
Texas had withdrawn from the Union. Had Virginia at that critical moment
declared for a like policy, it is almost certain that the remaining
Southern States would have followed her example. In such an event,
President Lincoln would on the day of his inauguration have found the
Capital of the Union encompassed by the States of Virginia and Maryland,
both members of the new Confederation.
With results so important and far reaching to the Union dependent upon
her action, the election in Virginia was held. Opposing candidates
presented themselves for the suffrages of the people in each of the one
hundred and fifty-two districts; unconditional Secessionists,
unconditional Union men and men opposed to secession and favorable to
the Union, provided the authorities of the latter did not resort to
force to bring back the states which had seceded. From the Ohio River to
the sea, from North Carolina to the Pennsylvania line, the people of the
commonwealth were stirred by the fervor of the campaign and the
magnitude of the issues upon which they were called to pass.
The returns from the ballot box showed that a large majority of the
delegates elected were opposed to Virginia's secession, and by a vote of
100,536 to 45,161, the people commanded that the findings of the
Convention should be submitted to them for ratification or rejection.