When Virginia's leaders voted to secede, it caused fear and confusion in the western counties. Some local governments stopped working, and armed groups gathered to support either the Union or the Confederacy. Many people in the western counties felt strongly that if Virginia left the U.S., they should form their own new state.

A key meeting in Clarksburg on April 22, 1861, led by Union supporter John Carlile, called for a convention in Wheeling in May for northwestern Virginia counties to figure out their next steps.