What did border states do during the civil war?

Answer 1

They were the "Border States" Watch a civil war movie to answer this question.

It was the war of brother against brother for a reason. The border states "were divided between support for the Union and support of the Confederacy. Because of this they would often lose battles as opposed to kill each other. You won't see it in history, but also some battles were simply avoided due to high ranking loved ones leading opposing troops on each side. Simply passed far from each other.

Answer 2

The so-called border States were a major part of the US Civil War. These were States that bordered on the Union's Northern States and the Confederacy's Southern States. The most important ones were Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and West Virginia.

West Virginia was a place the South wanted to control because of its military value.

But more important were Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland. They all were slave holding States. If they had joined the Confederacy, the South's ability to use their manufacturing and farming would have had a major impact on the War. Lincoln himself believed that if Maryland joined the Confederacy, he would have to abandon Washington DC as the Union's capital as Maryland surrounded it.

In addition to these pluses, their populations would have increased the South's army as there would have been substantial numbers of men to fight for the Confederacy. Also the large city of St. Louis in Missouri, on the Mississippi would have immense value to the South.

It is unlikely, among many historians, that the Union would have been able to prevent the Confederacy from becoming an independent nation.