'Tis Not Our War

Tis Not Our War answers the question of why men chose not to serve in the Civil War by focusing on the thoughts, opinions, and beliefs of average civilians and soldiers. This vivid and complex portrait of such men shows that the North was never as unified in support of the war as portrayed in much of America’s collective memory.

Paul Taylor is an award-winning author who has written numerous books on the Civil War, including “My Dear Nelly”: The Selected Letters of General Orlando M. Poe to His Wife (Kent State, 2020), “The Most Complete Political Machine Ever Known”: The North’s Union Leagues in the American Civil War (Kent State, 2018), and “Old Slow Town”: Detroit during the Civil War (Wayne State, 2013). He has been a book reviewer for Civil War News since 2005 and has been published in Michigan History and North & South. He lives near Detroit, Michigan.