[Verginius Rufus]

I went and looked at the case of Virginia vs. West Virginia (11 Wall. [=78 U.S.] 39-65). It has to do with the way that Berkeley and Jefferson counties were added to W.Va. (the same procedure was set up for Frederick County, which remained part of Virginia). It does take for granted that West Virginia is a state, and seems to assume that the Pierpont government in Virginia during the war was a legal government.

The three dissenting justices were David Davis of Illinois, Stephen Field of California, both appointed by Lincoln, and Nathan Clifford, appointed by Buchanan.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Yes, it was well established that the Pierpont government was the legitimate government of Virginia. Francis H. Pierpont remained the Governor of Virginia until 1868.