Civil War events continue: Library hosts author talk and more - Oct. 26-30

photo Local archaeologist and author Raymond Evans will talk about his new book, "The 44th U.S. Colored Troops and the Fort at Dalton" at the Chattanooga Downtown Library Saturday morning.

Events coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War continue Saturday, Oct. 26, and Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Author talk and book signing: The Chattanooga Public Library will host a talk by local author Raymond Evans at 10 a.m. Saturday at the downtown branch, 1001 Broad St. The cultural anthropologist/archaeologist has just published a new book, "The 44th U.S. Colored Troops and the Fort at Dalton."

According to Evans, the 44th U.S. Colored regiment was organized and trained at Chattanooga and later served as occupation troops here. The soldiers were not native Chattanooga men. Most were refugees from enslavement in Georgia, and some came off plantations in the Sequatchie Valley. The 44th would see dangerous service in North Georgia, and the scene of their capture was the fort at Dalton. Most of these 44th troops remained in the area after the war, Evans says, and many city residents are descended from them.

Evans will sign copies of his book after the free program.

For more information, call 423-757-5310.

Battle of Wauhatchie program: A park ranger will lead a 90-minute program on the Battle of Wauhatchie, "Point Blank Business," at 11 a.m. Saturday.

This rare night battle of the Civil War was fought Oct. 28-29, 1863. Often overlooked in the Chattanooga Campaign, the events in Lookout Valley further secured the "Cracker Line," the critical supply line that brought much-needed supplies to the Army of the Cumberland from Stevenson and Bridgeport, Ala.

The program begins at the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center parking lot, 400 Garden Road, and then will caravan to sites associated with the Wauhatchie Battlefield.

For more information, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit www.nps.gov/chch.

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