Streight's Raid topic of Civil War talk

The Chattanooga Area History Association and the Chattanooga Public Library's History Department will present a talk tonight by Civil War historian Henry E. Simpson.

A practicing attorney in Birmingham, Ala., Simpson is chairman of the board of the Civil War Trust, the national preservation group whose function is to save and teach Civil War history.

He will speak on Streight's Raid, a campaign conducted by Union Col. Abel D. Streight to destroy portions of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in northern Alabama, used to supply Chattanooga.

According to the online Encyclopedia of Alabama, the raid had little logistical effect. "Its principal significance lies in the legends that grew up around Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's capture of Streight and his men ... near the present-day city of Gadsden."

Simpson's presentation will start at 6 p.m. at the downtown library, 1001 Broad St. Admission is free.

Upcoming Events