effect. Slavery and the Civil War Ross was a slaveholder and obviously sympathetic with the various arguments intended to preserve it. "'Slavery might be dying in Delaware,' he said, but he was convinced a majority of the citizens in the state supported the rights of the slaves states." As if to agree with his point, the General Assembly again refused proposals to allow African Americans to testify in courts of law, or to travel freely. Ross knew what his reputation was, and with the outbreak of the Civil War in early 1861, and especially after one of his sons joined the Confederate States Army, Ross left for England for a few months. He tried returning a year later, but by 1863 had left for the duration of the war. While he was in exile he wrote, "Not that I am guilty of any act against the government of the U.S., but I am considered to entertain opinions which are pronounced by some people as disloyal. For that reason I remain out of the country, hoping that the American people may some day return to their reason, [when] I may return in safety to spend the remainder of my days in a country ruined by the madness and fanaticism of its own people." Ross returned, and lost many of his investments, but by his act of avoidance, probably prevented further personal ruin. Ross was but the most wealthy and most visible of many persons in Delaware equally sympathetic with the cause of the Confederacy. Most of his peers and neighbors felt the same way, and the strength of their pro-slavery feelings was matched only by awareness that the very existence of Delaware required its membership in a strong Union. Refusing to give up either opinion, the important decisions were simply made elsewhere. Death and legacy Ross died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 1887, and is buried in the St. Luke's Episcopal Churchyard at Seaford. The Gov. William H. Ross House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Almanac Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four-year term. Notes References Images Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery; Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover. External links Directory of the Governors of the United States Delaware’s Governors The Political Graveyard Places with more information