 Opinion shifted after April 15, when U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union to put down the rebellion, following the capture of Fort Sumter, and the Virginia convention voted to declare secession from the Union.A Unionist government was established in Wheeling and the new state of West Virginia was created by an act of Congress from 50 counties of western Virginia, making it the only state to lose territory as a consequence of the war.In May, it was decided to move the Confederate capital from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, in part because the defense of Virginia's capital was deemed vital to the Confederacy's survival.