Civil War Historian To Speak At Rugby On June 6

  • Friday, May 22, 2015

Michael C. Hardy, an authority on the Civil War in the mountains of North Carolina and East Tennessee, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, in the Historic Rugby Visitor Center’s Rebecca Johnson Theater. The author of twenty books, Mr. Hardy was named the 2010 North Carolina Historian of the Year by the North Carolina Society of Historians. He received the 2012 Alice Parker Award for Outstanding Literature and Arts from the University of Alabama, his alma mater. Mr. Hardy’s most recent book, The Capitols of the Confederacy, was published in April by The History Press. 

Besides being honored as North Carolina's historian of the year, Mr. Hardy has been honored with eight Willie Parker Peace Book Awards from the North Carolina Society of Historians. In 2009 he was presented the Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Superior Achievement Award from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, both for his work in preserving Confederate history. The Sons of Confederate Veterans presented Mr. Hardy with the Distinguished Service Medal in 2014.

At the end of December 2004, Mr. Hardy left the professional world to devote himself to writing history full time. He had spent nearly a decade working in libraries in western North Carolina. his primary motivation for writing is the preservation of history. Rather than re-visit the frequently covered epic or sweeping events of history, he seeks to find and relate the incidental or small facts that otherwise get glossed over or completely forgotten. There are many events and people that are of interest but which are seldom given a second thought by academic historians. These are the events and people to which Mr. Hardy is drawn and about which he is most passionate in his writing.

Mr. Hardy also consults with other authors and organizations in their work. He has helped several museums with displays about the Civil War, and at times even loans articles from his own collection for display. He has also worked with several well known fiction writers, including New York Times best-seller Sharyn McCrumb, answering questions about the Civil War or western North Carolina. An avid photographer, Mr. hardy at times illustrates the books and articles that he has written with many of his own photographs. 

Mr. Hardy lives with his wife, an English professor at Mayland Community College and also a published author, and their two children high up in the mountains of western North Carolina.

"Come early and enjoy a relaxing meal at Rugby’s Harrow Road Café. Choose from British favorites or choose from the daily fare menu," organizers said.  For lodging information and rates, please call Historic Rugby at 423-628-2441 or toll-free at 888-214-3400.

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