Secret Yankees: The Union Circle in Confederate Atlanta (War/Society/Culture) - Tapa blanda

"Dyer's clever bit of detective work merits as much praise as his deft narrative." -- Daniel E. Sutherland, Journal of Southern History

"A groundbreaking account... An important addition to Civil War scholarship, and an important reminder that history cannot be written in black and white." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Dyer captures the intricacies of multiple loyalties in the midst of seemingly unified secessionist sentiment. Skillfully written and carefully researched, this book is intended for both scholars and a general audience. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal

"As Dyer observes, 'For Atlanta Unionists (and for many Confederates as well), loyalty was frequently imperfect, rarely unconditional, and often influenced by circumstances.' His study has indeed provided new insights into one of the most complex and dramatic aspects of Civil War history." -- Harriet E. Amos Doss, Journal of American History

An intriguing story of loyalty and patriotism, Secret Yankees brings to life the adventures of Atlanta Unionists during the Civil War, offering a perspective on the conflict that previous accounts have ignored. ("There were no Unionists in Gone with the Wind," Dyer points out.) Dyer draws on previously unpublished sources--including a long-lost diary and a work of purported fiction based closely on the experience of Cyrena Stone, a Vermont native- to recreate the drama, deprivation, and suspicion that marked the experience of the Union in the closing, and increasingly desperate, years of the war. Arrested on suspicion of spying (the penalty was death) but released by Southern authorities, her house destroyed by Union shelling during the vividly rendered fall of Atlanta, Cyrena Stone survived the war to see the triumph of the cause for which she had risked her life.

More than the story of heroic individuals, Secret Yankees provides an illuminating account of personal travail in the Civil War and a thought-provoking exploration of the nature and meaning of national loyalty in wartime.