The Foreign Service Journal, November 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2018 35 Write ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/VLADOONDO BIOGRAPHYAND HISTORY Mountain Feds: Arkansas Unionists and the Peace Society James J. Johnston, Butler Center Books, 2018, $39.95/hardcover, $24.95/paperback, 320 pages. This book tells the little-known but dramatic story of an intrepid band of farmers and hill people in northern Arkansas who courageously opposed the state’s secession from the Union and refused to fight for the Confed- eracy. They formed secret organizations, collectively called the Arkansas Peace Society (later known as the Union League), inaugurated their own leaders and actively resisted the Confed- erate government. Beginning in November 1861, secessionists formed vigilante committees to arrest and interrogate APS members. As the campaign spread across the state, local militias took over the effort. Although this effort largely suppressed the organization, some of its leaders would assume leadership positions in civil government during the last months of the war, and the effects of their actions would resonate for years to come. Retired FSO James J. Johnston, a native of Camden, Arkan- sas, served in administrative and consular positions, principally in Africa and Latin America, until retiring in 1988. Following his last posting, as administration counselor in Mogadishu, Johnston and his wife, Margaret, returned to Arkansas and now reside in Fayetteville. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achieve- ment Award from the Arkansas Historical Association and the McGimsey Preservation Award from the Arkansas Archeological Society. Butler Center Books is a division of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System.