[2][3] At a convention duly called by the governor and authorized by the legislature, delegates voted on April 17, 1861, to approve Virginia's secession from the United States.

[4] Although the resolution required approval from voters (at an election scheduled for May 23, 1861), Virginia's governor entered into a treaty of alliance with the Confederate States of America on April 24, elected delegates to the Confederate Congress on April 29, and formally entered the Confederacy on May 7.

Senators and its two existing Representatives took their old seats in the House, effectively giving Congressional recognition to the Reorganized Government as well.

[17] The ballot also allowed voters to choose delegates to a constitutional convention, which met from November 26, 1861, to February 18, 1862.

[19] The constitution required the state legislature to establish a sinking fund to repay the debt "as soon as practicable" but within at least 34 years (including interest).

[25] President Lincoln was unsure of the bill's constitutionality, but pressed by Northern senators he signed the legislation on December 31, 1862.

[39] The ordinance of the Second Wheeling Convention which first made reference to the debt was irrelevant in the proceedings, as it is neither referred to nor included in the West Virginia constitution, the legislation of the Reorganized Government of Virginia which consented to secession, or the statehood act passed by Congress.

Therefore we adhere to our conclusion that West Virginia's share of the debt must be ascertained in a different way," Holmes concluded.

Holmes pointed out the danger and inequitable nature of such a scheme, and asserted the Court's jurisdiction over the case:[42] Having dealt with the foregoing issues, Holmes now confronted whether West Virginia had a duty to pay for the new bonds and certificates issued by Virginia between 1871 and 1900 in its attempt to discharge the one-third debt remaining on its books.

The Supreme Court had ruled on the legality of Virginia's debt substitution and duty to pay in numerous cases over the past.

[44] Holmes expressed the Court's concern over how to compute interest on the debt, given the large amount of time (a half-century) which had passed.

The majority concluded that the states should negotiate over the matter, and another special master appointed if the issue proved contentious.

[46] The Court ordered West Virginia to pay its one-third portion of the debt, pending resolution of the interest computation question.