Showing The Flags of War by John Wilson

Nate MacGregor knows he must fight for his Southern homeland in the coming Civil War, but for his cousin Walt in Canada West it's not so simple. Walt knows slavery's wrong but, as the tensions increase and war breaks out, the danger of Britain, and Canada, being sucked into the conflict on the side of the Confederacy increases. The two cousins are linked by Sunday, an escaped slave who is using the Underground Railroad to escape from Nate's plantation and get to Canada. As the war gathers momentum, Walt, Nate and Sunday are drawn farther and farther in, until they arrive at a shattering conclusion during the battle of Shiloh.

"…action-filled, tightly written prose. Realistic battle scenes illustrate the senselessness of war…the story offers a fresh take on the conflict - the idea of Canada as refuge for fugitive slaves and the irony of how it was nearly drawn into the war on the side of the South."- Albany Public Library, NY

Wilson "…makes sure that each character is well-rounded, with interesting sides to tell in the story…Easy to read, yet based on historical facts, this book takes the Civil War period in history from a dry read based on statistics, to a real situation being played out on both sides of the 49th Parallel. The impassioned beliefs and actions of people on both sides of the conflict captures the interest and makes the horrors of war real.
It was so well-written that I was drawn in immediately, and I usually avoid anything to do with war…History can be interesting."-Susan Miller, Resource Links

"Wilson takes a hard look at war and its consequences through the eyes of young protagonists…(he) provides his usual challenge to black-and-white thinking, prodding readers to think critically. Heroes are hard to come by in this historical fiction, and ethical choices are as difficult to determine as they are to make."-Quill & Quire