Customer Reviews

Lincoln's Loyalists: Union Soldiers From the Confederacy

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After getting stationed in Georgia back in 1997, I became interested in the cause of the Southern Unionists. As a CivWar reenactor I found this subject to be on one hand totally verbotten for polite fireside conversation. On the other, some interest but little information. Thank God over the last few years several books have come out to help fill that info gap. The South vs The South(poorest of the group), Lincoln's Loyalists, and Guerillas, Unionists,& Violence On the Confederate Homefront(very good!) have done alot for these forgotten souls. The best remains Lincoln's Loyalists, my orginal was permantly borrowed by a "rebel" buddy and passed about throughout the greyback community. Finally I've found another copy! Even for hardcore seesch, this book is a must read for anyone studying this sad chapter of our nations history.

Most readers will probably be astonished to learn how extensive support for the Union was among white southerners during the Civil War. The author provides a detailed, state-by-state description of organized military units from the southern states that fought for the Union. A final chapter summarizes the statistics -- something that I found particularly helpful. I hope that many southerners will read this book and be inspired to seek out their own Loyal ancestors. This chapter of southern history desperately needs to be better known.

I purchased a copy of this book soon after it was published.

Everyone knows some Southerners faught for the North. We have men like Admiral David Glasgow Faragut. We have West Virginia. But it turns out there is a lot more to the Southerners who sided with the North.

This book is their story. Comprehensively and state by state the author gives us their story. In addition to individuals serving in Northern state units except for South Carolina every single seceeding state contributed units to LIncoln's army. The South had no comperable formations. Yes, they had regiments from from the slave states that didn't seceed, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri but no regiments from Pennsylvania, New York or New Jersey or any other.

This book also gives us a basic idea on what kind of men they were. For the most part they were hardly any different from those who faught for the South.

A most interesting read.

Current's book fills a little known niche within the body of knowledge of the American Civil War. It addresses union regiments and union loyalists, from Southern states, who fought for the north. Current reviews the bidding on a state-by-state basis addressing union support in each area. One outcome of this union support was the creation of the state of West Virginia, but Current also addresses the strong pro-union regions of the mountainous areas of Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas. It also reviews unionist support in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. The book ends with a review of the loyalists' contribution (no worse, nor better than northern units).

Two things that struck me: first that there was more Union support than is popularly believed, and the Confederate authorities had to put considerable effort into controling their own populations. Second, it seems odd to have Confederate rebels become quite upset about rebels (or tories as they called them) in their own midst.

I try to like any book I can find on those Southerners that fought for the Union if however you are looking for an installment with new information this is not it. While the author may be an excellent historian he is not a good storyteller while the information provided in this book is indeed factually correct I've read more interesting encyclopedias. The author doesn't exercise the right of the historian to editorialize the events he just states what happens according to this account or that account.

This is unfortunate because with any other aspect of the American Civil War you would have 100 books to choose from in whatever subject area you choose. However those books dealing with Southern Loyalists published in the last 20 years can be counted on the fingers of one hand if this is an exaggeration its not an exaggeration by alot. Those southerners who sided with the United States instead of the new Confederacy are truly the unsung heros of the war.

For people interested in this area I would recommend two books Bushwakers by William R. Trotter and A Thrilling Narrative: The Memoir of a Southern Unionist by Dennis E. Haynes a Louisiana native that fought for the old Union in the war.

Either of these publications will have more information and character in them then this brave but rather dull publication.