The Free State of Winston Alabama

[fredtoast]

During the Civil War the State of Alabama voted overwhelmingly to secede from the United States and fight for the Confederacy. However, Winston County in the mountianous northern section of the state decided they did not agree with the rest of the state. There were no plantations in Winston County and no one owned any slaves. So they said that if a state can secede from its country then a county can secede from its state. So they formed The Free State of Winston and refused to support the Confederacy in any way. In fact they even took up arms against the Confederacy when they tried to force Winston County to provide soldiers and supplies to the Confederate army.

Just an interesting little tidbit I cam across while reading "Addie Pray" the book on which the movie "Paper Moon" was based. If any of you know any old people from the south you will LOVE this book. It is hilarious.

[Devils Advocate]

Wasn't that a Ryan and Tatum O'Neil movie?

[fredtoast]

(07-07-2015, 10:33 PM)Devils Advocate Wrote: Wasn't that a Ryan and Tatum O'Neil movie?

Yeah. They are con artists in Alabama during the depression.  

I am absolutely loving the book.  It is really funny, but part of the reason I like it so much is that it contains phrases that I have only heard from my parents who are in their 80's and from the south.

  

[Devils Advocate]

Yeah I've seen the movie. Has Higgins from Magnum PI. It's pretty good. Haven't read the book though.

[Bengalzona]

They never really seceded from Alabama. But they never helped the confederates either. When Sherman came through, a lot of the men joined a new Northern unit called the 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment, a unit that served with distinction through the rest of the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Winston

[StLucieBengal]

Good stuff fred... Thanks for sharing

[mallorian69]

What I find kind of ironic about the question of secession in regards to the federal government's stance on it at the time was that states can't secede from the union, but counties can secede from their state. Kind of a double standard if you ask me.