African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid

Slavery was already illegal in Canada during our Civil War, but thousands of black Canadians joined the Union Army, even though it was illegal under British law to enlist in a foreign army at war. Historian Reid’s new book asks why these soldiers took the risk and uncovers a complex set of reasons. Some enlistees felt they were answering Lincoln’s international call, others had professional or family reasons for Union involvement. A few weren’t Canadian at all, but Southern slaves hiding their identity from their owners. A unique look at a US war from the other side of the border.

—New York Post