[3] Winston County's representative at the January 1861 Alabama Secession Convention was Charles Christopher Sheats, a 21-year-old schoolteacher.

[5] Many Winston County residents refused induction into the Confederate Army, and some spoke openly of organizing troops to support the Union.

The worried state authorities moved to enforce obedience to the cause through conscription and loyalty oaths, which only made matters worse.

Many of the pro-Union Winston county residents, as well as those from the similarly aligned Nickajack area on the Tennessee border, enlisted in the Union Army's new 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment, commanded by an officer from New York, George E. Spencer.

[2] Winston's unique history has become the basis of a small tourist industry, which includes an outdoor drama loosely based on the events.

A passenger boat named the Free State Lady plies the waters of the county's Smith Lake.