The Needham Free Public Library will host William F. Quigley, Jr., author of "Pure Heart: The Faith of a Father and Son in the War for a More Perfect Union," on Thursday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m., in the Library’s Community Room.
In the summer of 1862, as Union morale ebbed low with home front division over war costs, coming emancipation, and demoralizing battlefield losses, 24-year-old William White Dorr enlisted as a lieutenant in the 121st Pennsylvania Volunteers, a new Union regiment organizing in Philadelphia. His father, the Reverend Benjamin Dorr, Rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, strived to prevent divisions in his congregation from sundering that Episcopal church historically tied to the nation’s founding. Clearly and engagingly written, "Pure Heart" is unique in its narrative synthesis of home-front political divisions and frontline infantry experiences. The emotional heart of the story lies in Reverend Dorr’s relationship with his soldier son, poignantly revealed in a recently-discovered collection of his son’s wartime letters.
William F. Quigley Jr. presents a narrative that remarkably encapsulates much of the North’s experience of the war.
The book will be available for purchase and autographing following the presentation. This event is sponsored by the Needham Free Public Library. For further information, please call the Library at (781-455-7559).
