Virginia Votes Yes or No

This entry is from a letter of Mary A. Smiley to her brother, Thomas A Smiley, who was in the Confederate army (as found at http://valley.lib.virginia.edu). The Smiley family owned a small farm in Augusta County, Virginia.

May 23, 1861 was the day the Virginia voted on two referendums, whether to secede from the Union, and on the taxation of slaves.  In this excerpt Smiley discusses how she suspects the voting is going, and her own sentiments.

This is election day it has been beautiful so far even the morning appears to favor the election for ratifying what the convention has done I think a great majority of the people will go for secession revolution or what ever it is called The greatest number of the papers urge the people to ratify the acts of the Convention to present a bold and united front to the North against its tyrany Even to the Spectator which you know was as strong a union paper as could be found I dont hear of many union people about here now Billy Beard J Buchanan & John Withrow are all that I hear spoken of. " " was here one night he was wishing Virginia had let the South alone and staid in the union I'll declare I could hardly hold my toungue but as he was talking to ma I had to, pa didn't agree with him

Ordinance of Secession, 1861 Virginia Convention from www.lva.virginia.gov