More interesting history about the proposed southern Union state of Nickajack...
https://battleground.substack.com/p/statehood-nickajackThe Nickajack statehood movement began at the start of the Civil War. While much of the South supported separating from the United States to retain the institution of slavery, many Union sympathizers in southern states rejected the idea of secession. Within the Tennessee River Valley, which stretches across both North Alabama and East Tennessee, slavery was largely unprofitable as the land was inhospitable to large plantations. As a result, most residents in this region were Unionists who rejected the articles of secession when their respective states contemplated leaving the Union in early 1861. After both Tennessee and Alabama opted to join the Confederacy, these Unionists hoped to mount a secession from the secessionist movement, mirroring the same set of factors that led West Virginia to become its own state in 1863.
