Synopses & Reviews
In the spring of 1862, Union forces marched into neighboring Carteret and Craven Counties in southeastern North Carolina, marking the beginning of an occupation that would continue for the rest of the war. Focusing on a wartime community with divided allegiances, Judkin Browning offers new insights into the effects of war on southerners and the nature of civil-military relations under long-term occupation, especially coastal residents' negotiations with their occupiers and each other as they forged new social, cultural, and political identities.
Unlike citizens in the core areas of the Confederacy, many white residents in eastern North Carolina had a strong streak of prewar Unionism and appeared to welcome the Union soldiers when they first arrived. By 1865, however, many of these residents would alter their allegiance, developing a strong sense of southern nationalism. African Americans in the region, on the other hand, utilized the presence of Union soldiers to empower themselves, as they gained their freedom in the face of white hostility. Browning's study ultimately tells the story of Americans trying to define their roles, with varying degrees of success and failure, in a reconfigured country.
Review
"Reflecting very wide and deep reading and research across multiple disciplines,
Shifting Loyalties provides a comprehensive and compelling look at how North Carolinians responded to federal military occupation during the Civil War, as well as fresh insight into the dynamics of occupation in general."--John David Smith, co-editor of
Undaunted Radical: The Selected Writings and Speeches of Albion W. Tourgée
Review
"Browning provides useful insights into the nature of southern unionism and what directions it took under the considerable strain of long term occupation and post war reevaluation."
-Civil War Books and Authors
Review
"This study is a unique look into a so-called Unionist area in a Confederate state under Union occupation....Highly recommended to Civil War enthusiasts."
-NewsOK.com
Review
"Browning's explorations uncover a treasure trove of information."
-America's Civil War
Review
"Radically challenge[s] existing interpretations of the Civil War in eastern North Carolina."
-The North Carolina Historical Review
Review
"Harrold is at his best when he discusses how, when, and why the violence occurred, and its impact on the ongoing struggle."
-The North Carolina Historical Review
Review
"A well-conceived and well executed microstudy."
-Journal of American History
Review
"[A] valuable study."
-American Historical Review
Review
"An excellent study that deserves a wide reading audience. It opens a window on a little-studied aspect of the Civil War."-Blue and Gray Magazine
Review
"An elegantly written and persuasive narrative."
-The Historian
Review
"A welcome addition to the literature on the occupied South during the Civil War."
-Army History
Review
"Browning's work is an important study of the effects of Union occupation on myriad different social groups.... [He] should be commended for a well thought out and judicious account of the experience of Carteret and Craven counties during the American Civil War."
-American Nineteenth Century History
Review
"[A] well-researched and lively treatment of two coastal North Carolina counties."--
-Journal Of Southern History
Review
"[A] well written, carefully researched effort that explains how eastern North Carolina's rebellion began rather than ended in 1865."
-Tennessee Historical Review
Synopsis
Focusing on the Union occupation of Carteret and Craven Counties in southeastern North Carolina, Browning offers new insights into the effects of war on southerners and the nature of civil-military relations under long-term occupation, especially coastal residents' negotiations with their occupiers and each other as they forged new social, cultural, and political identities.
About the Author
Judkin Browning is assistant professor of history at Appalachian State University.