“four of the largest Southern states —
Texas, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee”
All due respect to the author, there is one Southern state listed there — two depending on how you classify Tennessee
1861-1865 all four were considered Southern states, Georgia is a Deep South State with South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Texans can opt to be either Southern or Southwestern, all the Arkansans I talked to in the past considered themselves to be in the Southwest but now many I talk to say they’re in the Southeast. Any state south of the Mason-Dixon may be considered Southern.