Free Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided by W Hunter Lesser

the traitors thrown out by proxy and Union men appointed in their place. Loyal Unionists would claim the political framework of a state already recognized by the Federal government—thereby courting favor with a Lincoln administration not anxious to deal with the Rebels. Lincoln himself held the constitutional authority to determine which of two competing parties was the lawful state government. An 1849 Supreme Court case in Rhode Island— Luther vs. Borden —had set the precedent.
     
    Once Federal recognition was gained, a “restored” Virginia government could legally accede to the creation of a new state. The strategy was fraught with risk, but even statehood hard-liners saw its virtue. 195
     
    On June 13, the convention moved to Wheeling's United States Custom House. Inside its magnificent U.S. courtroom, John Carlile reported a “Declaration of Rights of the People of Virginia.” Like the declaration of 1776, this document was revolutionary—it charged secessionists with “usurping” the powers of the people of Virginia, forcing them to wage war against the United States, and attempting to subvert the Union to an “illegal confederacy of rebellious States.” The Richmond government had failed to protect the rights of the people; therefore it was “the duty of the latter to abolish it.”
     
    All acts of the Richmond convention were repealed. All state offices held by secessionists were declared vacant. On June 14, “An Ordinance for the Re-organization of the State Government” directed the convention to elect a governor, lieutenant governor, and a five-member governor's council. A rumplegislature, consisting of loyal Unionists elected to Virginia's General Assembly on May 23, would be formed. 196
     
    Die-hard advocates continued to pursue statehood, but John Carlile skillfully parried them. “In relation to this thing of dividing,” he retorted, “I find that even I, who first started the little stone down the mountain, have now to apply the rubbers to other gentlemen who have outrun me in the race, to check their impetuosity.”
     
    “Now Sir, let us pursue the policy laid down in the Declaration,” Carlile said, “and let us repudiate Letcher and his transfer; let us assemble a Legislature here…and let that Legislature be recognized by the United States Government as the Legislature of Virginia…. Give us that recognition, and then the separation will come.” Then might Western Virginians demand of their brothers and sisters over the mountains, “Let this line be drawn between us.” 197
     
    On June 17, Frank Pierpont made a tone-setting speech prior to a vote on the “Declaration of Rights.” Pierpont called their plan the “brightest scheme” for loyal Virginians, one that could be used as a model for other seceded states. He assured the delegates that President Lincoln and the Congress would recognize theirs as the “rightful government” of Virginia. The Declaration of Rights was then approved by a vote of fifty-six to zero. John Carlile hailed it as an omen—there had also been fifty-six signers to the Declaration of Independence. 198
     
    Delegates voted to adopt the Reorganization Ordinance on June 19. They signed the Declaration of Rights in solemn ritual, added the phrase “Liberty and Union” to Virginia's state seal and proudly forwarded copies to Washington. The “Restored Government” of Virginia was born. 199
     
    Frank Pierpont was unaminously elected governor the next day. Governor Pierpont began his term with few trappings of rank. His office consisted of a vacant room in the Custom House. A bare table, half quire of paper, pen, and ink were his only furnishings. A friend remarked that he might be the first public official ever to “thank men for putting a rope around his neck.”
     
    Pierpont addressed a letter to President Lincoln, writing of events at Wheeling, of the crisis in Virginia, and of the need for Federal troops to maintain law and order. He