On the 17th of April 1861, the Virginia state convention declared secession with 32 delegates voting against the ordinance. A total of 49 delegates represented the counties that became West Virginia during this vote.
Francis H. Pierpont served as governor when Unionists organized a rump government on the 11th of June 1861. This Restored Government of Virginia was officially recognized by the Lincoln administration and included elected state delegates and senators who refused to serve in Richmond.
Historian Richard O. Curry estimated an approximate vote of 34,677 against and 19,121 in favor of secession from West Virginia's counties. His calculations showed 24 counties supporting the ordinance and 26 rejecting it.
The official number of Union soldiers from West Virginia is 31,884 as stated by the Provost Marshal General of the United States. These figures include re-enlistment numbers while Charles H. Ambler estimated native Union soldiers at about 20,000.
President Lincoln signed the statehood bill on the 31st of December 1862 with the Willey Amendment attached. Voters approved this amendment on the 26th of March 1863 which mandated gradual abolition of slavery.