This would be a great topic for 'News and Views'. I'd like to see other people's opinions on the terms Union vs. Federal. It doesn't seem to make any difference to anyone except me. I've avoided using the term 'union' in my posts for the past ten years wihout getting anyone's attention until now. That's only because I finally mentioned my dislike for it.

'Federal' and 'Confederate' are correct for the two opposing armies, raised as they were by the Federal and Confederate governments. If anyone wants to apply political descriptions to the two armies, then they are 'union' and 'secessionist'. For that reason (and not because anyone else thinks it's right or wrong) 'Union' and 'Confederate' seem out of place together. 'Union' implies fighting for a patriotic cause, while 'Confederate' means serving that government out of duty only. It doesn't seem to bother anybody else.

As for being politically correct, you'll need to explain that, but not on this message board. Here's the link --
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/nvcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?#m_67815

To return to the original topic, the novel Red Cap by G. Clifton Wisler is based on a true story of two boys on opposite sides of the stockade, one from my native state and a member of the 26th Alabama Regiment. That command served as prison guards at Andersonville during the late winter and early spring of 1864.