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Union (American Civil War)
 
 
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During the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government
Federal government of the United States

The Federal Government of the United States is the central current reigning United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession
Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. It is not to be confused with succession, the act of following in order or sequence....
 attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederacy
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
.






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Usa Map 1864 Including Civil War Divisions
During the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government
Federal government of the United States

The Federal Government of the United States is the central current reigning United States governmental body, established by the United States Constitution....
 of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession
Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. It is not to be confused with succession, the act of following in order or sequence....
 attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederacy
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
. Although the Union states included the Western
Western United States

The Western United States—commonly referred to as the American West or simply The West—traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost U.S....
 states of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
, and (after 1864) Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
, as well as states generally considered to be part of the Midwest
Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
, the Union has been also often loosely referred to as "the North
Northern United States

The Northern United States is a large geographic region of the United States of America. Most Americans refer to the region simply as "the North"....
", both then and now.

Overview


Because the term had been used prior to the war to refer to the entire United States (a "union of states"), using it to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the pre-existing political entity. Also, in the public dialogue of the United States, new states are "admitted to the Union," and the President's
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 annual address to Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 and to the people is referred to as the "State of the Union Address
State of the Union Address

The State of the Union is an annual address presented before a joint session of Congress and held in the United States House of Representatives chamber at the U.S....
".

During the American Civil War, those loyal to the federal government and opposed to secession living in the border states
Border states (Civil War)

In the context of the American Civil War, the term border states refers to the five slave states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and West Virginia, which bordered a Free state and were aligned with the Union ....
 and Confederate states were termed Unionists. Confederate soldiers sometimes styled them "Homemade Yankees." However, Southern Unionists were not necessarily northern sympathizers and many of them although opposing secession supported the Confederacy once it was a fact.

Still, nearly 120,000 Southern
Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States....
 Unionists served in the Union Army
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 during the Civil War, and every Southern state, except South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, raised Unionist regiments. Southern Unionist
Southern Unionist

In the United States, Southern Unionists were people living in the Southern United States opposed to secession and against the American Civil War....
s were extensively used as anti-guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
 forces and as occupation troops in areas of the Confederacy occupied by the Union. Since the Civil War, the term "Northern" has been a widely used synonym for the Union side of the conflict. Union is usually used in contexts where "United States" might be confusing, "Federal" obscure, or "Yankee
Yankee

The term Yankee, sometimes abbreviated to Yank, has a few related meanings, often referring to someone of United States origin or heritage. Within the United States its meaning has varied over time....
" dated or derogatory.

The Union was a heavily industrialized economy, unlike the south.

Union states


The Union states were:
  • California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
  • Connecticut
    Connecticut

    Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
  • Delaware
    Delaware

    Delaware is a U.S. state located on the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic States region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named....
    *
  • Illinois
    Illinois

    The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
  • Indiana
    Indiana

    The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
  • Iowa
    Iowa

    The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
  • Kansas
    Kansas

    The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
  • Kentucky
    Kentucky

    The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
    *
  • Maine
    Maine

    The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....
  • Maryland
    Maryland

    Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
    *
  • Massachusetts
    Massachusetts

    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
  • Michigan
    Michigan

    Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
  • Minnesota
    Minnesota

    Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....
  • Missouri
    Missouri

    Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
    *
  • Nevada
    Nevada

    Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
  • New Hampshire
    New Hampshire

    New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
  • New Jersey
    New Jersey

    New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
  • New York
    New York

    The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
  • Ohio
    Ohio

    Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
  • Oregon
    Oregon

    Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
  • Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania

    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
  • Rhode Island
    Rhode Island

    Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....
  • Vermont
    Vermont

    Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
  • West Virginia
    West Virginia

    West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
    *
  • Wisconsin
    Wisconsin

    Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
* Border states: In Kentucky and Missouri, pro-secession factions declared for the South and those states were claimed by the Confederacy, but had both Union and Confederate state governments claiming power.

Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
 joined the Union on January 29, 1861, after the secession crisis had begun but before the attack on Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War....
. West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
 separated from Virginia and became part of the Union during the war, on June 20, 1863. Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 also joined the Union during the war, becoming a state on October 31, 1864.

See also

  • Guerrilla Warfare: American Civil War
    Guerrilla warfare

    Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....


External links

  • - from a history of the 1st Alabama Cavalry, U.S. Volunteers