As regards to Winston County, Alabama and her contributions to both Union and Confederate causes, the particulars are very hard to very.
If one uses census reports to verify the residence of a Union soldier, particularly members of the 1st Alabama Cavalry, one has to remember, Winston did not exist prior to 1850. It was formed in that year as Hancock county and was carved in large part from portions of Blount and Walker counties. So nativity to Winston County cannot be determined in many of the records.
If one uses the election for delegates to the so called Convention on Secession the ratio would have been approximately three to one in favor of Cooperationist delegates. The Cooperationist sought not to secede but somehow work with the Union government to find a solution to the crisis.
If one uses the rosters of the various Union Regiments in which Alabamians served several problems are evident. For example, I know of several Union Regiments in addition to the 1st Alabama Cavalry in which Alabamians served, those include; 21st Ohio Infantry, 1st Ohio Cavalry, 10th Tennessee Infantry, 1st Alabama and Tennessee Independent Vidette Cavalry, Mississippi Mounted Rifles, 1st Tennessee Artillery, and the list goes on and on.
Finally, there were numerous men who served in both the Confederate and Union armies during the war.
Although Winston County, Alabama never officially declared its independence or seceded from the state of Alabama, pro-Union sentiment was very high the area. Other areas of the state of Alabama in addition to north Alabama also had very strong union sentiment, Randolph County is a good example. If one checks the Compiled Service Records, there are several soldiers who traveled over 120 miles from Randolph County, Alabama to Corinth, Mississippi to enlist in the 1st Alabama Cavalry.
The individual members of the 1st Alabama Cavalry also included numerous men from northern Mississippi, western Tennessee and western Georgia.
Winston and neighboring counties contributed many good and upstanding young men to the Confederate cause. Some regiments represented by these men include, the 56th Alabama Cavalry (Partisan Rangers), 5th Alabama Cavalry, 1st Alabama Infantry, 28th Alabama Infantry and 42nd Alabama Infantry to name a very few.
The Union sentiment was by no means a blessing to the area. The atrocities committed committed by both Union and Confederate forces during the war in North Alabama, especially in Marion and Winston Counties are nothing to be proud of.