Canadians in the Civil War

by Claire Hoy

"The U.S. Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict, involving 3 million fighters, some 600,000 of whom died. Most Canadians know something about its American impact, but few realize that is also stands as a defining event in Canadian history." "Thousands of Canadians (British North Americans at the time) enlisted in the northern armies, mainly to collect bounties of $200 or more, but many more were dragooned, pressed into service involuntarily by unscrupulous "crimps," who, in cahoots with U.S. military authorities, prowled our borders looking for young men to either cajole, drug or kidnap into service. The war also saw an influx of American "skedaddlers," the original draft dodgers, avoiding conscription by fleeing north into Canada."--BOOK JACKET.