A history of the division among state leaders surrounding secession, and those who opposed it before the Civil War.

This book tells the story of those state leaders in North Carolina who remained loyal to the Union, because they saw the potential for compromise with Northern states. William Alexander Graham helped broker the Compromise of 1850. John Motley Morehead and Jonathan Worth led the campaign against secession in early 1861. Most, though, continued to serve their state under the Confederacy—even though Zebulon B. Vance opposed secession, he served in the Confederate army and as governor of the state during the Civil War. Now historian Steve M. Miller introduces us to the Tar Heel Unionists who bravely fought to steer their state away from the disastrous future they foresaw.