“Protecting Home and Hearth: Civil War Georgia 1862” will be the topic of the 2012 Civil War in the Western Theater Colloquium sponsored by The Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia in conjunction with the Chickamauga Civil War Trade Show. The show is Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.

The colloquium will feature lectures by three prominent Civil War historians, which are offered free and open to the public by the Bandy Center.

At 1:30 p.m. historian and scholar Dr. Richard McMurry will discuss “Confederate Armies: East and West.” A retired professor, Dr. McMurry has published numerous books on the Civil War including "The Road Past Kennesaw: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864," "The Fourth Battle of Winchester: Toward a New Civil War Paradigm," "Atlanta 1864: Last Chance for the Confederacy," "Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History," and "John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence."

Following Dr. McMurry at 2:30 will be Dr. Mark Wetherington presenting "Fought to a ‘Frazzle’: The Experiences of Georgia Soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia." Dr. Wetherington is the director of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Ky., and author of Plain Folk’s Fight: The Civil War and Reconstruction in Piney Woods, Ga.

Finally, Dr. Keith Bohannon, associate professor of history at the University of West Georgia, will present “The Grim Visage of War: Georgia in 1862” at 3:30. He has published several articles and essays relating to the Civil War in addition to co-authoring two books.

There is an admission fee to the Trade Show, but The Civil War in the Western Theater Colloquium is free and open to the public, with seating in the Trade Center’s Lecture Hall available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The lectures are co-sponsored by the Bandy Center and the Georgia Humanities Council. Those wishing to know more may contact Heather Shores of the Bandy Center at 706-272-4452.