Historians to talk about new books on local civil war history

Historians Mac Whatley and Brad Foley will present “A Tour of Randolph County’s Civil War Past” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Foley will talk about his recently-published book, Letters Home: The Civil War Correspondence of Alexander C. McAlister, 46th North Carolina Regiment. The letters, between McAlister and his wife Adelaide, are a firsthand account of the war’s impact on one of Asheboro’s leading citizens and his family.

Whatley will explore Civil War in the North Carolina Quaker Belt, the late William T. Auman’s account of seven Confederate military operations conducted against deserters and Unionists in central North Carolina. “The book is the work of Bill’s lifetime, and an important contribution to Randolph County history,” Whatley says.

The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free and the public is invited. The library is located at 201 Worth Street in Asheboro.