Pre-War Loyalty: A Note

One important point to bear in mind when discussing where loyalties laid in territories claimed by the Confederacy is the nature of loyalty itself. For example, following Lincoln's call for troops and North Carolina's secession from the Union (and ultimately entry into the Confederacy), the governor began to raise troops and call out the militia. This is going to have an impact on any discussion of loyalty that must not be forgotten. Once the call for loyal Confederates went out, who answered? It certainly was not Quakers and Unionists; it was the most ardent supporters of the Confederacy. Thus, all able bodied men that supported the Confederacy went off to war, leaving behind the old and ill, and the few wealthy elite that were well enough off as to be able to buy their way out of military service. This variable must be kept in mind when examining southern loyalty to the Union cause.