Local author and historian Mike Ragland plans to turn the clock back to the Civil War area when he speaks Thursday night at the Rome-Floyd County Library.

He will present his lecture, “When the Yankees Came to Rome,” in the Coosa Room of the library at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The lecture, Ragland said, will have a strong focus on the time period from May to November of 1864, particularly touching on the burning of Rome. He said he may read excerpts of old letters and diary entries of Mary Noble as well as excerpts from Ruben Norton’s diary, who both lived in Rome during the time of the invasion.

“The famous Norton diary describes the burning of the town and when Noble’s letters came up, it really documents everything Norton said,” Ragland said. “She witnessed it all and she even gets into a little more detail.”

An avid historian, Ragland has been enamored with the past ever since he was a child.

“I have a photo of when I was 12 years old, sitting on a canon in Chickamauga,” he said. “I can’t remember not loving history.”

A native of Lindale, Ragland served in the Navy from 1963 to 1967, and retired after 40 years of service in the Rome Police Department. His first historical novel, “Bertha,” hit the shelves this past summer.

The Civil War Symposium seeks to educate the community about Rome’s rich Civil War history. The series is sponsored by the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information visit www.TheCivilWarinRome.org or call 706-295-5576.