Civil War

As the 19th century progressed, slavery and the issue of states' rights caused division between Northern and Southern states. In Virginia, however, sentiment was moderate and there was a willingness to seek conciliation with the North. This attitude prevailed despite such incidents as a bloody slave uprising in Southampton County led by Nat Turner in 1831 and a raid on Harpers Ferry by John Brown and his abolitionist followers in 1859.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Virginia seceded reluctantly. The settlers west of the Alleghenies remained loyal to the Union and formed the new state of West Virginia. Virginia lost more than 30 per cent of its land area and 25 per cent of its population.

Richmond became the Confederate capital. Robert E. Lee of Virginia was named principal military adviser to Confederate president Jefferson Davis and given command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the main Confederate force. Throughout the war, from the first major battle, at Bull Run (Manassas) in July, 1861, to the fall of Richmond and Petersburg in early April, 1865, Virginia was the center of fighting. The surrender of General Lee and his troops took place at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, on April 9, 1865.

In the Reconstruction era, the period that followed the war, Virginia was placed under military rule by the federal government. A new constitution allowing black suffrage was adopted in 1869, and on January 26, 1870, Virginia was readmitted to the Union.