Border states (American Civil War)

The **Border states** were those slave states that during the American Civil War did not leave the Union. The border states were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. After West Virginia separated from Virginia, it was also considered a border state. Most border states had strong ties to the South culturally, but they had economic ties to the North. While remaining loyal to the Union, the Border States were themselves slave-holding states.

In the Border States the war caused divided loyalties. They were the scene of often  guerilla warfare where neighbor fought against neighbor. By the start of the Civil War, slave ownership in the south had become concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. In 1830, 36% of Southern families owned slaves. By 1860, the number had fallen to 25%. They needed field hands for the cotton plantations. But in 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.

## The five border states
Each of these five states shared a border with Union states. All but Delaware also share borders with states that joined the Confederate States of America (CSA).

### West Virginia 
In October 1859 John Brown's raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in what is now Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (at the time part of the state of Virginia) sent shock waves through the South. Although Brown was quickly captured and executed, the incident had a  effect on the 1860 presidential election. When Abraham Lincoln won over three Democratic Party candidates, it triggered Southern secession. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the 40 western counties of Virginia were strongly against secession and they seceded from Virginia. Both houses of the state General Assembly rejected secession. Delaware's lower house was  in rejecting the idea. The state senate voted against secession five to three. The state was split. They were clearly tied economically to the North but culturally to the South. But the Maryland legislature never considered a resolution to secede from the Union. The governor suggested calling a convention to consider secession, but the legislature ignored his request. 

Chief Justice Roger Taney, acting only as a circuit judge, ruled on June 4, 1861, in *Ex parte Merryman* that Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus was unconstitutional, but the president ignored the ruling in order to meet a national emergency. On September 17, 1861, the day the legislature reconvened, federal troops arrested without charge 27 state legislators (one-third of the Maryland General Assembly). They were held temporarily at Fort McHenry, and later released when Maryland was secured for the Union. Because a large part of the legislature was now imprisoned, the session was canceled and representatives did not consider any additional anti-war measures. The song "Maryland, My Maryland" was written to attack Lincoln's action in blocking pro-Confederate elements. Maryland contributed troops to both the Union (60,000) and the Confederate (25,000) armies. During the war, Maryland adopted a new state constitution in 1864 that prohibited slavery. It also freed all remaining slaves in the state.

### Kentucky 
Kentucky was strategic to Union victory in the Civil War. Lincoln once said, 
"I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone, we cannot hold Missouri, nor Maryland. These all against us, and the job on our hands is too large for us. We would as well consent to separation at once, including the surrender of this capitol [Washington, which was surrounded by slave states: Confederate Virginia and Union-controlled Maryland."

Lincoln reportedly also declared, "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." They would not provide troops to either the Union or the Confederacy. At the same time the declaration offered to mediate a peace between the two sides. 

Neutrality was broken when Confederate General Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, Kentucky, in the summer of 1861. This caused Kentucky to call for Northern aid to repel the Confederate invaders. Polk's  cost the Confederacy any chance of getting Kentucky to join them. The dispute was aptly named Bleeding Kansas. When the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, the entire state of Missouri was firmly divided between pro-Confederate and pro-Union forces. The governor of Missouri, Claiborne Jackson refused to send volunteers from the state to fight for Abraham Lincoln when he called for troops. Instead, the governor had the state militia muster outside the city to begin training in preparation to join the Confederate forces. He moved quickly enough to catch them un. On June 15, Lyon's small Union army occupied Jefferson City. Lyon installed a pro-Union government after Jackson and most of his militia retreated to the southwest corner of Missouri. Lyon moved his army to go after the s. On June 17, both sides fought the Battle of Boonville which lasted only about 30 minutes. The Union forces completely ed the pro-confederates. He then lead his troops into a series of skirmishes with the Missouri State Guard and the Confederate Army.

Lyon next moved to Springfield, Missouri where the army camped. On August 10, Lyon's Army of the West was defeated by a combined force of the Missouri Militia and Confederate troops under the command of Benjamin McCulloch near Springfield, Missouri. This was called the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Lyon was killed while trying to rally his outnumbered soldiers. However, Lyon’s efforts prevented the State of Missouri from joining the Confederacy. Missouri abolished slavery during the war in January 1865.

## References 
## Other websites 
* Border States Documentary: YouTube
* A State Divided: Delaware During the Civil War
* Maryland, Whoes Maryland?
* W.Va. Tourism Civil War Series - Introduction; YouTube