Press release from Western NC Civil War Roundtable:
The Western NC Civil War Roundtable will continue its 2022 series of programs on Monday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m. with Michael Hardy speaking about George Washington Kirk. The program will take place at the Haywood County Library in Waynesville at 678 S. Haywood St. and is free and open to the public.
In the mid-1800s, no character within the region was more loved or despised than Union officer George Kirk. He led groups of soldiers, often consisting of mountain Unionists and deserters from the Confederate army, on raids between Tennessee and North Carolina. As the Confederate Home Guard struggled to keep western North Carolina communities safe and keep the war effort going, Kirk’s men brought fear throughout the region for their ability to strike and create havoc without warning. Mr. Hardy will detail Kirk’s origins, his recruitment methods, and the effectiveness of his various raids.
Michael C. Hardy is a widely recognized expert and author on the American Civil War. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and was named North Carolina Historian of the Year in 2010 by the Society of North Carolina Historians. He was also given the Alice Parker Award for Outstanding Literature and Art in 2012 by the University of Alabama. His work has appeared in national magazines and he has published numerous books on local history and civil war topics. Among his titles are “North Carolina In the Civil War,” “Avery County, North Carolina,” and most recently, “Kirk’s Civil War Raids Along the Blue Ridge.” He blogs regularly at “Looking for North Carolina’s Civil War.” When he is not researching and writing, Michael and his family volunteer as interpreters at historic sites in western North Carolina and East Tennessee.
The WNC Civil War Roundtable meetings will continue on December 12 at our Christmas Party. The topic of the presentation at this event will be “Devil Dan Sickles.” More information on this program can be found at http://wnccwrt.com
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