Where Did They Stand?
by Taylor M.
Chamberlin
Book Description
 In the tumultuous early
months of 1861, citizens of Loudoun County, Virginia, faced a fateful
choice. Should they join their fellow Southerners who had already
seceded from the United States, or remain loyal to the Union whose
capital lay barely 25 miles to the southeast? Many were swayed
by months of fiery speeches in support of "states rights" and
the Southern way of life–including slavery. Others
with close business and family links north of the nearby Potomac
River, feared war and economic ruin.
The question was put to a vote on 23 May 1861. But there was
no secret ballot, and each vote, publicly cast, carried personal
consequences for the voter–both in relation with
his neighbors and in his post-war dealings with the federal government.
This carefully documented study details, voter by voter, the
crucial balloting on the Ordinance of Secession. It also sheds
new light on the lasting significance of that vote as individual
Loudoun citizens tried to recover damages caused by Union forces
in the course of the war, particularly during the infamous–and
indiscriminate–"Burning Raid"
that charred most of the Loudoun Valley in November 1864.
There is much in this clearly written and conveniently organized "book
of lists" to interest and inform the general reader curious
about Loudoun County during the Civil War. But the study–meticulously
researched, including extensive data from the National Archives–will
be especially valuable to genealogists and to social historians
concerned with the vote whose consequences have rippled down
to modern times. Equally helpful are the complete rosters of "Burning
Raid" claimants and Southern Claims Commission applicants.
Book Details
• Paperback: Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches
• Publisher: Waterford Foundation (2003)
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