1861 - Governor Andrew Johnson

WI Andrew Johnson (or someone else of equally Unionist views) had been Governor of Tennessee in April 1861?

Would he have any chane of keeping TN - or at lest the eastern half of it - in the Union? Any troops sent to back him would of course have to cut across Kentucky, which would cause political problems, but if a Southern Governor had actually raise the flag for the Union, might Lincoln have felt that he had to send them, whether Kentuckians liked it or not?

How does the course of the western war go in Secessionism in Tennessee is scotched as fast as in Missouri? Could 1862 find Union forces threatening Atlanta? and what are communications like between TN and NC? Would there be any chance of a Unionist rising in western NC getting support from East TN?
 

Driftless

Donor
and what are communications like between TN and NC? Would there be any chance of a Unionist rising in western NC getting support from East TN?

North Carolina in the Civil War
Some white North Carolinians, especially yeoman farmers who owned few or no slaves, felt ambivalently about the Confederacy; draft-dodging, desertion, and tax evasion were common during the Civil War years, especially in the Union-friendly western part of the state. Central and Eastern white North Carolinians were more enthusiastic about the Confederate cause; North Carolina contributed more troops to the Confederacy than any other state.

North Carolina History Project
Because Bell and Breckinridge supporters expressed allegiance to the Union, the overall vote reveals a strong Unionist sentiment among Tar Heels.
The non-slaveholding yeoman farmers made up a majority of Tar Heel voters and constituted the core of Unionist strength. The northeastern and western counties, and portions of the Piedmont, were areas of Union sentiment and, therefore, disinclined to secede over slavery.

To counter the secessionist fervor, Unionists also convened. Holden’s Standard effectively upheld the Union cause and expressed hope for compromise. On January 29, the General Assembly decided to put the convention question to the people on February 28 and voted to send delegates to the Washington Peace Conference on February 4.
The convention campaign was vigorously waged. Unionists defined the terms of debate as a question of “Union or Disunion.” Secessionist attempts to redefine the campaign in terms of self-defense were not successful. Answering the charge that disunion meant war, secession supporter A. W. Venable (1799-1876) of Granville County declared that he would “wipe up every drop of blood shed in the war with this handkerchief of mine”; this may have been the most memorable statement of the convention campaign.

Defeating the secessionists by a vote of 47,323 to 46,672, Unionists carried the northeastern counties and most of the Piedmont and western counties. Because a few Unionists like Vance supported the convention call, the delegate elections are more indicative of actual sentiment; only 39 of the 120 delegates were secessionists. A few days after the vote, on March 4, Lincoln gave an inaugural address, which many considered conciliatory.
 
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