what was the south side called in the civil war

Some, such as Texas governor Sam Houston, were vocal in their support of Southern interests, but believed that those interests could best be maintained by remaining in the Union as it existed. The term Southern Unionist, and its variations, incorporate a spectrum of beliefs and actions.

Western North Carolinians, for example, formed their own loyalist infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, while West Virginians formed a new Union state admitted in 1863. These areas provided thousands of volunteers for Union military service. Other (primarily Appalachian) areas with significant Unionist influence included North Alabama, North Georgia, Western North Carolina, the Texas Hill Country, northern Loudoun County in Virginia, the State of Scott in Tennessee, the Free State of Jones in Mississippi, North Mississippi, North Texas, the Arkansas Ozarks, and the Boston Mountains in Arkansas. Tennessee (especially East Tennessee), North Carolina, and Virginia (which included West Virginia at that time) were home to the largest populations of unionists.

During Reconstruction, these terms were replaced by ' scalawag' (or 'scallywag'), which covered all Southern whites who supported the Republican Party. Pro-Confederates in the South derided them as ' Tories' (in reference to the pro-Crown Loyalists of the American Revolution). These people are also referred to as Southern Loyalists, Union Loyalists, or Lincoln's Loyalists. Many fought for the Union during the Civil War. In the United States, Southern Unionists were white Southerners living in the Confederate States of America opposed to secession. Newton Knight (Mississippi), leader of the Knight Company and one of the founders of the Free State of Jones. For pro-UK sentiment in Ireland outside Northern Ireland, see Unionism in Ireland.

This article is about anti-secessionism in the southern United States.

What was the south side called in the civil war