Lincoln's Loyalists: Union Soldiers from the Confederacy

Nearly 100,000 men from Confederate states organized into battalions to fight with the armies of the North. These ``unknown soldiers of the Civil War'' represented 10% of the fighting force under Gen. Robert E. Lee's command, a significant loss to the strength of the South and an important resource for the North. They risked not only the dangers of war, but the certainty of being treated as deserters if taken prisoners. After the war their lives were endangered by the hostility of their embittered neighbors; some were beaten, ``hunted down like dogs'' or killed outright. There was little help from the North, struggling in the aftermath of Lincoln's death with the formidable problems of mending the nation. Although there is a considerable literature about the black soldiers who fought with the armies of the North, Current ( Those Terrible Carpetbaggers ) contends that little attention has been paid to these forgotten white Union loyalists. Drawing on overlooked sources, he provides an original and comprehensive, state-by-state account of their struggles and contributions. History Book Club alternate. (June)