Restored Government of Virginia

E-156

After Virginia seceded in the spring of 1861, Unionists met in Wheeling and organized a state government loyal to the U.S. under Gov. Francis H. Pierpont. The Restored Government, which sent representatives to the U.S. Congress and raised federal troops, moved to Alexandria in Aug. 1863. Pierpont was based at the City Hotel (Gadsby's Tavern) before moving to 415 Prince St. The General Assembly, representing Northern Virginia, the Eastern Shore, and Hampton Roads, met at City Hall. Members authorized a convention that adopted Virginia’s Constitution of 1864, which abolished slavery and secured other reforms. The government moved to Richmond in May 1865; its constitution was in effect until 1869.

Department of Historic Resources, 2021

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Sara B. Bearss, “Restored and Vindicated: The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1864,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 122, no. 2 (2014): 156-181. Kevin T. Barksdale, “Francis Harrison Pierpont (1814-1899),” Encyclopedia Virginia (rev. 2015) https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Pierpont_Francis_H_1814-1899 Sara B. Bearss, “Virginia Constitutional Convention (1864),” Encyclopedia Virginia (rev. 2016) https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Virginia_Convention_of_1864 Brent Tarter, Virginians and their Histories (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020). New York Herald, 9 May 1865. Richmond Whig, 15, 27 May 1865.