All over the south there were communities, sometimes whole counties that did not support the Confederacy during the civil war. Some managed to pass resolutions and sent them to their state governments. There are many such places in every state in the south.
One such county is near me, “The Free State of Winston”. They tried to breakaway from Alabama, unsuccessfully, but enough people objected to the war that they forced it to a vote.
I’ve sold cattle in Winston county. Another place I’ve sold cattle in my state is “Uniontown”. There is more than one “Union town” in my state.
As with all wars rich people manipulated poor people to fight and die for their greed. 98% of the men who fought for the south never owned a slave.
In my state rich men owned the river delta’s where soil was deep and rich, and flat. The best lands to farm... with slaves. The poor (my ancestors) lived in hill country on small family farms. Many of these people had married into the southern tribes, Creek, Chickasaw and Choctaw. They didn’t own slaves and generally opposed slavery, and the rich who owned them.
The spring (where my family has gotten water for generations), forms a stream, then a small creek. Just a couple miles from here an ancestor of mine had a grist mill on the creek. Beginning about 100yrds down from the mill was a series of dug outs, small shelters beside the creek.
Many men came to live there during the civil war to escape the military draft... for a war they didn’t believe in. My ancestor, and everyone else in the community donated small amounts of corn meal to feed these men for the duration of the war.
The wooden roofs rotted a century ago but I’ve seen the dug-out cavities along the creek. They are still there.
Article… Free State of Winston - David McRae, Auburn University
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1850
Winston County, Alabama - The Free State of Winston genealogy site.
One such county is near me, “The Free State of Winston”. They tried to breakaway from Alabama, unsuccessfully, but enough people objected to the war that they forced it to a vote.
I’ve sold cattle in Winston county. Another place I’ve sold cattle in my state is “Uniontown”. There is more than one “Union town” in my state.
As with all wars rich people manipulated poor people to fight and die for their greed. 98% of the men who fought for the south never owned a slave.
In my state rich men owned the river delta’s where soil was deep and rich, and flat. The best lands to farm... with slaves. The poor (my ancestors) lived in hill country on small family farms. Many of these people had married into the southern tribes, Creek, Chickasaw and Choctaw. They didn’t own slaves and generally opposed slavery, and the rich who owned them.
The spring (where my family has gotten water for generations), forms a stream, then a small creek. Just a couple miles from here an ancestor of mine had a grist mill on the creek. Beginning about 100yrds down from the mill was a series of dug outs, small shelters beside the creek.
Many men came to live there during the civil war to escape the military draft... for a war they didn’t believe in. My ancestor, and everyone else in the community donated small amounts of corn meal to feed these men for the duration of the war.
The wooden roofs rotted a century ago but I’ve seen the dug-out cavities along the creek. They are still there.
Article… Free State of Winston - David McRae, Auburn University
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1850
Winston County, Alabama - The Free State of Winston genealogy site.
