Book Review: ‘Tis Not Our War: Avoiding Military Service in the Civil War North

‘Tis Not Our War: Avoiding Military Service in the Civil War North. By Paul Taylor. Stackpole Books, 2024. Hardcover, 435pp. $34.95.

Reviewed by Lucas Clawson

Paul Taylor’s ‘Tis Not Our War: Avoiding Military Service in the Civil War North is a smart and engaging book that reminds us how complicated the human condition is, especially in a time of internecine war. Taylor’s goal is to elucidate the many reasons that white Northern men chose not to participate in military service during the American Civil War. He goes beyond simplistic explanations like men just did not want to get killed or they had religious objections to fighting to lay out a host of reasons, some that are obvious and some that require a bit of context and explanation to understand.

Taylor reminds us that war is not a simple, straightforward matter and neither are the people who get caught up in it, especially when their ideologies and world views are in some ways foreign to ours of the present. A real strength of this book is helping the reader understand the cultural, political, and economic context of mid-19th century America and how they affect peoples’ actions during the American Civil War. This helps make their actions legible, especially in explaining a subject as knotty as why white men chose to not join the military. Taylor effectively demonstrates how politics, racism, peer pressure, individualism, economics, and self-interest all acted on decisions to not support he war via military enlistment.

The book is organized chronologically, walking readers from the secession crisis all the way through to the early days of Reconstruction. This allows the author to show how white Northern men and women reacted to events connected to the war. It also shows how their perspectives changed over time, in some cases going from patriotism and Unionism to adamant opposition to the war. The chronological approach is quite effective in connecting Northerners’ decision-making process to larger events, which is key to understanding why some chose not to participate in the war.

‘Tis Not Our War draws on a fantastic array of primary sources. Mr. Taylor used letters, diaries, memoirs, official reports, newspaper articles, political cartoons, regimental histories, and similar sources. He also utilizes the words of a wide variety of people, from privates to generals, civilians to politicians, women and men. The breadth and depth of voices heard make the point that opposition to war and military service came from all corners of the Union, not just the rank-and-file soldier tasked with actually fighting and dying.

While ‘Tis Not Our War provides a lot to think about, readers may be well served paring it with works like Gary Gallagher’s The Union War and James McPherson’s For Cause and Comrades.[1] Either of these books balance out what some may view as a “doom and gloom” perspective and help readers understand why white Northern men did fight and stick with the Union cause in its darkest hours. Reading these books together adds a lot of nuance, richness, and complexity to the questions of how white Northerners engaged with the American Civil War.

In the book Taylor attempts to connect the reader to modern-day terminology and political ideas in a non-partisan way. This is not as effective or meaningful as the author’s intention, in part because it could feel quaint or outmoded after a few years. However, Taylor’s attempt to help connect Civil War America to the present should be applauded so that readers will have a better understanding of what can feel like foreign concepts. Taylor also does not include the perspectives of African Americans or Native Americans in this work. While this is not a major shortcoming given the enormous topic he takes on, readers should be aware that he does not explore why African Americans or Native Americans may have chosen to not fight for the Union.

In the end, ‘Tis Not Our War is a wonderful book to help readers think through some of the less glamorous aspects of the American Civil War. It talks of shirkers, malingerers, rogues, and outright scoundrels; not the typical people one reads about in Civil War studies. Without a doubt, it complicates how we think about white Northerners’ feelings for and against the Union Cause.

[1] Gary W. Gallagher, The Union War (Harvard University Press, 2012) and James M. McPherson, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).

Lucas R. Clawson is historian at Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware. He works with the historical records of the DuPont Company, du Pont family, and businesses in the Delaware Valley, using them to create public programming, lead discussions with Hagley’s staff, and for scholarly research on topics such as the DuPont Company, Delaware and the Border States in the American Civil War, and the U.S. Navy during the 19th century. Lucas is a graduate of Appalachian State University and the University of Delaware. He has been with Hagley since 2007.