Restored Government of Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Restored Government of Virginia
Restored state government of United States of America
1861–1865
US flag after Virginia admission (1863–1865) Coat of arms
1864 map of the states of West Virginia and Virginia by Samuel Augustus Mitchell. The Restored Government of Virginia asserted itself to be the rightful state government of these lands until the admission of the State of West Virginia into the Union in 1863. After this, it claimed to be the lawful government of the modern state boundaries of Virginia. Over the following two years, it assumed actual control of the entirety of Virginia's postbellum territory as the Union Army occupied it by force of arms.
Capital	Richmond (1861–1865) (de jure) Wheeling (1861–1863) (de facto) Alexandria (1863–1865) (de facto)
Government
• Type	Organized incorporated state/Shadow government
Governor
• 1861–1865	Francis Harrison Pierpont
Historical era	American Civil War (1861–1865)
• Second Wheeling Convention	June 11, 1861
• Formation of a new state government	19 June 1861
• West Virginia admitted to the U.S.	June 20, 1863
• Surrender of the Confederacy	April 9, 1865
• Provisional government formed in Richmond	9 May 1865
Preceded by Succeeded by Virginia West Virginia Virginia

The Restored Government of Virginia was a special government in Virginia during the American Civil War (1861-1865). It was loyal to the United States (the Union) and was set up against the government that had decided Virginia should leave the U.S. and join the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy). Both governments believed they were the true government of Virginia.

The Restored Government tried to take control of the northwestern part of Virginia. They had help from the Union Army, but they were only partly successful. They formed Union army groups from local volunteers. However, they also needed soldiers from other states like Pennsylvania and Ohio. This government managed the area until it became the new state of West Virginia in mid-1863.

After West Virginia became a state, the Restored Government continued to exist. It had very little real power. It operated within what it believed were Virginia's new borders. The Union Army protected it. This made it a "shadow government." This means it was a government that claimed to be in charge but didn't have full control.

Unlike some other shadow governments, Virginia's Unionist government was never completely forced out of its claimed area. Most of the land it claimed was still controlled by the Confederate government of Virginia. That government never accepted the Unionist government. Also, because the Unionist government's control depended on the army, the area was under military rule. This limited the power of the civilian government.

The Restored Government had only two parts: the executive (like a governor) and the legislative (like a law-making body). It did not have a judicial branch (courts). It first met in Wheeling, which was in the far northwest of Virginia. When that area became West Virginia, the government moved.

From August 1863 to June 1865, it met in Alexandria. This city was close to Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital. The Union Army had taken control of Alexandria in 1861 to protect Washington. In 1864, the Restored Government created a new state constitution. This new constitution ended slavery in Virginia. The next year, they approved the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery across the entire United States.

From the very beginning, the Restored Government claimed Richmond as its official capital. Richmond was also the capital of the Confederate States. Near the end of the war, in March 1865, the Confederate government and its army left Richmond. The city then came under Union control. The Restored Government finally moved its operations to Richmond.

How the Restored Government Formed

In June 1861, a meeting called the Second Wheeling Convention took place. At this meeting, they created "A Declaration of the People of Virginia." This declaration said that any big changes to Virginia's government needed to be approved by the people. The Virginia secession convention, which voted to leave the U.S., was called by the state legislature, not by the people.

Because of this, the declaration stated that the secession convention was illegal. It said that all its actions, including the vote to leave the Union, were invalid. It also declared the pro-secession government invalid. It claimed that all state officials who supported leaving the Union had given up their jobs. The people who formed the Restored Government were not elected by the public. Instead, they came together based on local requests and other informal ways. Some were "more or less self-appointed."

The convention then chose Francis Harrison Pierpont as governor. They also selected other leaders for the executive branch. Wheeling was named the temporary state capital. Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th President, recognized the Restored Government. He said it was the rightful government for all of Virginia.

The United States Congress accepted the two new U.S. Senators chosen by the Restored Government. They also seated five U.S. representatives. These representatives came from areas that stayed loyal to the Union or were controlled by the Union Army. All the people sent to Congress from this government were strong Union supporters.

The U.S. Senators chosen were Waitman T. Willey and John S. Carlile. The representatives came from areas where people had voted to stay in the Union. These included the western parts of Virginia that would mostly become West Virginia. They also included areas like Alexandria and the Eastern Shore. After West Virginia became a separate state, Congress did not seat any more Senators or Representatives from the Restored Government.

By the end of 1861, large Confederate forces had left western Virginia. However, small groups of Confederate soldiers still operated in the area. In 1862, Confederate troops briefly took back the Kanawha valley, but Union forces quickly regained control. The Restored Government tried to control the western counties. However, it only managed to control about half of the fifty counties that later became West Virginia.

In August 1862, Governor Pierpont received a report. It said that there were 22 counties where Union volunteers could be found. But it also noted that forcing people to join the army in some of those counties would be "extremely difficult."