As a resident of Nevada I became fascinated by its history.

A few other tidbits:

Although Lincoln wanted the electoral votes, he also wanted to make sure that the incredible wealth of the Comstock Lode didn’t come under Confederate control, which was altogether possible, considering there was a strong Confederate sympathy among residents and territorial lawmakers.

Nevada was originally part of the Utah territory before statehood, but when the Mormons were called home to protect the homeland when it looked like the US was going to invade, they abandoned their holdings there and returned to Salt Lake City. Las Vegas was originally a Mormon trading site – only clean water for a hundred miles (Las Vegas means “the meadows”).

When Nevada was admitted to the Union it didn’t have a large enough population to qualify as a state, This was waived (again, because of the silver mines). And in the late 19th century there was a move to rescind statehood because the population had dropped even further as the mines ran out and people moved elsewhere.

Fascinating place. Loved living there. Spent 3 years in Las Vegas and about 8 in Reno. Miss it terribly and intend to move back someday.

Nevada was granted statehood during the Civil War because Lincoln thought the election would be close and the electoral votes would be necessary for him to secure a second term as President. In order to become a state, however, the Nevada State Constitution had to be in Congress for the statehood vote. Without enough time to send it by rail prior to the election, the entire thing was sent by telegraph.

It is because the state was born during the Civil War that the state flag bears the words “Battle Born”.