Two local history buffs hope that their latest books about legal pirates and the conditions on the Civil War battlefield will encourage young people to learn more about the past.

“The history is so important to who we are as a people,” said Wick Griswold, whose latest book “Connecticut Pirates and Privateers” was one of two history books released Aug. 24 by Arcadia Publishing and The History Press.

“In order to know who we are, we have to know who we were,” he said during an interview recently at his home in Old Lyme.

In Patricia F. Staley’s 144-page book, “Norwich and the Civil War,” she reveals war stories of heroism and sacrifice from foot soldiers of Norwich.

In her book, Staley writes that President Lincoln responded to the fall of Fort Sumter by calling for about 75,000 army volunteers to serve for three months in April 1861. The Norwich Town Council offered to pay volunteers and their families to support the war effort. Women sewed uniforms, mill owners donated money, and Norwich resident Daniel Tyler was appointed brigadier general of the Connecticut regiment in the First Battle of Bull Run.

One account shared in the book is in a section dedicated to Col. George L. Perkins, a veteran of the War of 1812, who served by order of Gov. William Buckingham. Perkins was credited with bringing the first reliable reports of military strength and the state of the nation’s capital to Connecticut after the attack on Fort Sumter, according to the book.

Perkins went to see Secretary of War Simon Cameron and Buckingham in Washington. Even though there were numerous other letters and cards sent to Cameron, Perkins’ notes took priority due to his “commanding figure,” which convinced Cameron that he was a “distinguished magnate” and needed his attention with haste.

In the book, Perkins’ update to the governor ended with details of his return trip from Maryland to New York in which he says he survived “without being shot, though in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by plug-uglies, in perils in the city; and in perils among false brethern. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often and in the night dampness.”

“Norwich and the Civil War” is the second book Staley has written.

She said the most exciting part about her latest book is how much more “personalized” it is, since it offers a view of the Civil War directly from the soldiers’ words through preserved letters and images. She considered their experiences “striking.”

“You get an appreciation for the hardships these men voluntarily faced,” she said during an interview at the Otis Library in Norwich. “They were young, too; they were about 18, 19 and 20 years old fighting the war.”

Staley based her book on documents from friends, family and organizations like the Friends of the Otis Library and Friends of the Slater Museum, of which she is a board member and president, respectively.

She is a retired history teacher and school administrator and spends any given day babysitting her 1-year old grandson. Staley said that she has loved history all of her life, and moving to Norwich inspired her to dig up the history of the city.

Griswold’s same-day release provided a contrast to Staley’s look at land. He focused his book on high adventures on the sea.

Griswold, who wrote two other history books before the release of “Connecticut Pirates and Privateers,” was inspired by a childhood interest in swashbuckling, the paranormal, and the Connecticut River.

“Water is the source of all life. I sailed in the Connecticut River, paddled in it and swam in it as a kid,” he said. “Everyone in the world is connected to every other river of the world. That spurred my interest in the water academically.”

In his 126-page book, Griswold defines and profiles pirates, privateers and their ships. Pirates are seafaring thieves who attack other ships and take off with loot and prisoners, while privateers are legalized pirates, he explained. Privateers do much of the same activity that pirates do, but with their nations’ permissions. They were employed to protect the nation and its interests.

One figure featured in the book is Capt. William Kidd, famous for both his privateering and pirating. A 17th century Scottish sailor who started his career as a privateer, Kidd turned to pirating and was abandoned by his privateering sponsors in England, one of which reported his activities to the English government. Upon stopping in New York to bury treasure on Gardiner’s Island, he was arrested, imprisoned for a year and sent back to England to stand trial. He was found guilty and hanged for piracy; his body was kept in a cage hanging over London’s Thames River as a warning for other pirates.

Kidd made headlines in May, according to news sources, when a silver bar that may have belonged to him was found off the northeastern coast of Madagascar.

Additional figures featured in the book include Blackbeard, Connecticut Gov. Jonathan Trumbull, a group of pirates called Mooncussers, and the privateer ship Minerva, which was the first to be commissioned by the Connecticut State Navy around 1775.

Griswold said his favorite figure from the book is Kidd. He’s confident that others will enjoy reading about Kidd’s legacy as well.

Griswold also ventured into Connecticut’s maritime history in the book. The Connecticut Colony was largely supported by privateering for revenue.

Both Griswold and Staley are working on new book projects for the future.

Griswold will celebrate the release of “Connecticut Pirates and Privateers” at Black Hall Grille in Old Lyme Sept. 18. The book is available through Amazon.com and at Arcadia Publishing for about $22.

Staley’s book “Norwich and the Civil War” is also available for about $22 at the Slater Gift Shop, Backus Hospital Gift Shop, Bank Square Books in Mystic, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, at Amazon.com and at Arcadia Publishing.