INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: “I WAS ALWAYS A UNION MAN”: AFRICAN-AMERICAN LOYALTY AND COMMUNITY IN HISTORIOGRAPHY 9 CHAPTER 2: “I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO HELP THE REBELS”: NETWORKS OF RESISTANCE 22 CHAPTER 3: “MY FAMILY WERE ALL FOR THE UNION”: LOYALTY AND KINSHIP 33 CHAPTER 4: “MOST ALL OF THE COLORED MEN WERE LOYAL”: NETWORKS IN BLACK AND WHITE 49 EPILOGUE 70 APPENDIX 1: NETWORKS 76 FIGURE 1. CHARLES CITY COUNTY FIGURE 2. HENRICO COUNTY FIGURE 3. NANSEMOND COUNTY FIGURE 4. NEW KENT COUNTY APPENDIX 2: TABLE 1 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY 81

This thesis covers the involvement and influence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Virginia during the Civil War. Because the Methodists were the largest religious denomination in the South at the onset of the war, the Church was in a position to offer support and to shape the opinions of the Confederate people. Using sermons, religious tracts, newspapers, and letters, this study demonstrates that the majority of the Church supported the Confederacy and its aims.