BIDDEFORD — Civil War historian and author Brian F. Swartz will present “Maine and Biddeford Help Save the Union in 1861 and 1862” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 in an online presentation.

The event is a Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center program, presented courtesy of McArthur Library, and will focus on how Maine and Biddeford responded when civil war tore apart the country in the early 1860s. It will also focus upon several Biddeford soldiers who fought to preserve the Union — including Samuel Franklyn Farcher, a Saco native and veteran, who lived in Biddeford after the war.

Contact Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center at bchc04005@gmail.com or call 207-283-3993 for a link to the online talk and more information.

Swartz’s recently released book, “Maine at War Volume 1: Bladensburg to Sharpsburg,” delves into the history and significant contributions of the men from Maine during this troubling time. Drawing on letters, diaries, newspaper articles, regimental correspondence, and official records, the book follows Maine’s involvement in the first 18 months of the war, as told by the men and women who left Maine to help save their country.

Raised in Brewer, Swartz became passionate about the Civil War during its centennial and started visiting far-flung battlefields in the late 1980s. A Bangor Daily News reporter and editor for 27 years, he launched his Maine at War column in April 2011 and his Maine at War blog in March 2012; the blog has published weekly ever since.

Swartz and his wife Susan live in Hampden with their cat, “Miss Getty,” short for Gettysburg.

Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center is proud to have the endorsement of the Maine Bicentennial Commission for this special presentation.