Some Unionists initially opposed secession (especially in the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia), but afterward either actively served and fought with the Confederate armies, or supported the Confederacy in other ways.
A study of Southern Unionists in Alabama who continued to support the Union during the war found that they were typically "old fashioned" or conservative "Jackson" Democrats, or former Whigs, who viewed the federal government as worthy of defending because it had provided economic and political security.
They saw secession as dangerous, illegitimate, and contrary to the intentions of the Founding Fathers, and believed that the Confederacy could not improve on the United States government.
The desire for security was a motivation for Unionist slaveholders, who feared that secession would cause a conflict that would result in the loss of their slaves; however, some stated that they would rather give up slavery than dissolve the Union.
This idea was predicated on the fact that many believed that the newly elected President Lincoln would declare a relaxed policy toward the South that would ease tensions.
Given the fact that there were a good number of Southern Unionists known to be found in the South it was hoped that this deliberate policy of non-provocation would subvert extremists from irreversible action.
Ulysses S. Grant noted:[21] We had many regiments of brave and loyal men who volunteered under great difficulty from the twelve million belonging to the South.