( doug kapustin for the washington post ) the push by 50 western virginia counties to secede in 1863 , forming west virginia at the height of the civil war , was led by a charismatic store - clerk - turned - lawyer who famously urged his supporters : “ cut the knot now !
strzelczyk , a legal activist , writer and radio host , launched a facebook page in july 2013 in support of seceding or un - marrying , a term that strzelczyk and his supporters prefer , the five western counties of maryland : frederick , carroll , garrett , allegany and washington into a new state called western maryland or west maryland .
” west virginia was the last state successfully seceded from another .
published on : thursday , september 05 , 2013 by donna broadway new windsor - if carroll county resident , scott strzelczyk , has his way , whenever a montgomery county resident crosses the border into frederick , he or she will be crossing state lines .
annapolis could care less about the people in the five western counties .
now , 150 years later , a 49 - year - old information technology consultant wants to apply the knife to maryland ’s five western counties .
“ the people are the sovereign , ” says scott strzelczyk , leader of the fledgling western maryland initiative , and the western sovereigns are fed up with annapolis ’s liberal majority , elected by the state ’s other sovereigns .
” strzelczyk , who lives in new windsor , a historic town of 1,400 people in carroll county .
in recent years , counties and even scott strzelczyk is a leader in the movement for western maryland 's secession from the rest of the heavily democratic state .