Border State Most Likely To Secede

Which Border State Was Most Likely To Secede


  • Total voters
    66
Of the four border state of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri which one was the one most likely to secede? Personally I'd say Kentucky.
 
Well, considering the fact that there's still a fair bit of debate over whether or not Missouri legally seceeded from the Union (to the degree which one may consider secession legal in the first place) they would seem like the most likely candidate for it.
 

Ak-84

Banned
I thought Maryland needed to be placed under martial law and many pro-confederates imprisoned or shot before it came under control?
 
I thought Maryland needed to be placed under martial law and many pro-confederates imprisoned or shot before it came under control?

Yeah, I definitely remember that. I think it was split between a pro-Confederate legislature and a pro-Union governor. Even if they were all pro-Confederate and attempted full-blown secession, they probably still would have been put under martial law. Maybe they'd do more executions than incarcerations.
 
Kentucky was neutral, I think to preserve itself from war. (The CSA shot themselves in the foot by invading them and opening up a western front.)

Maryland was placed under Martial Law almost from the GO by Lincoln, and yes, pro-Confederates were jailed (along with the suspension of Habeus Corpus).

Missouri, I think, was much more likely to actually secede, but Union troops quickly overtook the state and it was under Federal control for the vast majority of the war.

Delaware is the least likely to secede, methinks, because it sent more troops per capita to serve in the Union than any other Northern state (I think that's correct).
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
IIRC, Missouri had a pro-secession governor and pro-secession legislature, but were run out of the state by General Lyon before they could effectively organize a withdrawal from the Union. Therefore, it gets my vote.

Kentucky seemed to want to be genuinely neutral, although probably tilted a bit towards the Union side. It was when the Confederates invaded the western part of the state to occupy Columbus that they threw themselves into the hands of the Union. One wonders what would have happened if the Yankees had occupied Kentucky territory first, which they might have done within days had Polk not been such an idiot.

As it was, something like 70,000 Kentuckians fought for the Union, and 30,000 for the Confederacy. Eastern Kentucky was very pro-Union, while central Kentucky was sympathetic to the South.

As far as Maryland is concerned, Baltimore and eastern Maryland were largely pro-Confederate, while western Maryland was pro-Union (too bad for Lee). Lincoln had to basically shut down the legislature to keep them from seceding, and IIRC, the Balitmore police force burned the railroad bridges to the north of the city in an effort to isolate Washington in the opening days of the war.

No chance at all for Delaware. Slavery was technically legal there, but had long since faded out of importance. In all other respects, it was basically a Northern state.
 
Who ever voted Delaware is crazy.

It's almost ASB.

Bayard and Salisbury had said that the only way Delaware would have seceded was if Maryland did so first, as the two states were often considered sister states.
 
and IIRC, the Balitmore police force burned the railroad bridges to the north of the city in an effort to isolate Washington in the opening days of the war.

i just read a good book, Cry Havoc, on the "Secession winter" and early war. it says how the bridges were burned more to keep northern regiments from going thru the city than to isolate DC.
 
Delaware wouldn't secede even if Maryland did. It was too economically tied to New Jersey and Pennsylvania and had nothing to gain from it.
 
Who ever voted Delaware is crazy.

It's almost ASB.

Bayard and Salisbury had said that the only way Delaware would have seceded was if Maryland did so first, as the two states were often considered sister states.
Very true. If Maryland didn't secede, then Delaware would be totally surrounded by hostile territory. And right below Philadelphia, which i would assume housed a few Union troops.

As far as Maryland is concerned, Baltimore and eastern Maryland were largely pro-Confederate, while western Maryland was pro-Union (too bad for Lee). Lincoln had to basically shut down the legislature to keep them from seceding, and IIRC, the Balitmore police force burned the railroad bridges to the north of the city in an effort to isolate Washington in the opening days of the war.
IIRC, Eastern Shore Maryland was fairly stongly Northern in sentiment. I know slaves were still kept there, IIRC something like 300 were freed. Which would seem to contradict any Northern leanings.

No chance at all for Delaware. Slavery was technically legal there, but had long since faded out of importance. In all other respects, it was basically a Northern state.
Not so sure about it being basically Northern, but i seem to remember that something like 70 slaves were emancipated. I think the southern bits of the state supported the South, but the north bits were heavily influenced by the Quakers.
 
Not so sure about it being basically Northern, but i seem to remember that something like 70 slaves were emancipated. I think the southern bits of the state supported the South, but the north bits were heavily influenced by the Quakers.
Quite true.

The C&D Canal(or location thereof) was the approximate dividing line between Northern and Southern sentiment, and in many ways has remained that way to this very day.
 
IIRC, Eastern Shore Maryland was fairly stongly Northern in sentiment. I know slaves were still kept there, IIRC something like 300 were freed. Which would seem to contradict any Northern leanings.

.

Yea for the most part, thats where Tubman and Douglas were born. Out of the state it had the highest proportion of free slaves in the entire state. Well, the Eastern Shore of Maryland though it had its large rural farming it never really had those big plantations nor was it really southern, most of the farming with a few exceptions was done by the local rural white folks. Plus, the Eastern Shore has always been rebelious to the orders pushed at it by Baltimore!

Thery did organized a few Regiments, of Maryland Eastern Shore Infantry for the Union which were organized first as a home guard regiment to put down those damn rebs on the western shore.

Though certainly it was more or less evenly divided. Though I still dream a POD where Maryland secedes and the Eastern Shore secedes from it and gets to form its own state.....
 
Missouri. The Governor and part of the Legislature fled to the southern part of the state where they declared the secession of the state. There were a lot of local battles around my town, actually. The lead mines were important apparently, and the Union didn't want the Confederacy to get control of them.
 
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