Booknotes: From Gray to Blue

New Arrival:

• From Gray to Blue: Galvanized Yankees in the American Civil War [publisher's book page] by Patrick H. Garrow (U Tenn Press, 2025)

I was unable to obtain a review copy of Patrick Garrow's 2020 book Changing Sides: Union Prisoners of War Who Joined the Confederate Army, but I did feature it in a book news post that can be found here. What did come in just now, though, was its new companion volume, From Gray to Blue: Galvanized Yankees in the American Civil War, which "explores the other side of this overlooked aspect of Civil War history."

Every prior investigation of this topic has established clear connections between miserable POW camp living conditions and willingness to escape them through switching sides, and that is also a starting point for Garrow's fresh study. From the description: "Significantly expanding on previous scholarship around "galvanized Yankees," Garrow begins his study with an overview of Civil War prisons as a whole. He outlines unsavory conditions endured by prisoners of war on both sides, including a lack of proper shelter, food, potable water, and medical care."

However, survival was not the only factor that prompted switching sides, and Garrow's research also uncovers a number of lesser-recognized motivations. Additionally, his study follows the Union Army Civil War service of these 'Galvanized Yankees' over the remaining balance of the conflict. More from the description: "Garrow investigates service records, pension files, period newspapers, and regimental histories to uncover the complex motivations of Confederate prisoners of war who joined Federal forces. He documents the individual histories of twelve distinct infantry and cavalry regiments, contextualizing the wartime climate, struggles, and political leanings of the soldiers grappling with survival and allegiance during the Civil War."