Alfred Irenee duPont, the man remembered for "saving E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. for the duPont family," was a 43-year-old newlywed when he visited the site of the Fontanet disaster that killed at least 27 people in October 1907.

Founded in 1800 by Eleuthere Irenee duPont, Alfred's great-grandfather, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., America's largest explosives manufacturer, was wholly owned by the duPont family when Eugene duPont, chairman of the board, died in 1901.

The company's board of directors, including Alfred and several cousins, decided to sell the company to its biggest rival, Laflin & Rand Powder Co., for $12 million.

In March 1902, before the sale was consummated, Alfred had a change of heart, demanding the chance to buy the business for the same sum. He met resistance, but enlisted two cousins, Coleman and Pierre duPont -- neither active in the business -- as allies. The deal was concluded in a few days. Coleman duPont became president.

Once they owned the company, the three cousins ascertained that it was worth at least five times the $12 million price tag placed on it.

On Oct. 8, 1902, the duPonts bought Laflin & Rand Powder Co, including the Fontanet mill, and became the undisputed lord of the explosives industry with eight dynamite mills, 21 black powder works and two smokeless powder mills.

Alfred was controversial. He did not like desk work and dropped out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work in the powder yards harnessing horses, loading and unloading kegs of dynamite and pushing carts.

His marriage to first cousin Bessie Gardner ended in a bitter divorce. On Oct. 15, 1907 -- the day of the Fontanet disaster -- he married his former neighbor, Alicia Bradford Maddox, and brought her to Vigo County on their honeymoon.

Many members of the duPont family detested Alicia, believing she destroyed Alfred's marriage to Bessie. Alfred countered by suing a few relatives for speaking ill of his wife and built an elaborate mansion, called "Nemours," on 300 acres in Brandywine valley near Wilmington, Del. Nemours, France, was the ancestral home of Alfred's great-great-grandfather.

Alicia duPont died in 1920 and Alfred wed a former high school classmate, Jessica Ball. The couple spent most of their time in Jacksonville, Fla., though Alfred maintained Nemours and ordered a 210-foot bell tower to be erected there in honor of his parents.

The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children was built adjoining the Nemours Mansion and Gardens, a national historic site, with money bequeathed by Alfred to The Nemours Foundation in 1935. Administered by brother-in-law Edward Ball until his death in 1981, the foundation also established several children's medical clinics in Florida.

Several biographies have been written about the duPont family and Alfred, including "Alfred I. du Pont: The Man and His Family," by Joseph Frazier Wall, published in 1990 by Oxford University Press.

Few epochs in American history have as much appeal as the Civil War era.

Larry G. Ligget is Terre Haute's expert-in-residence.

Ligget has dedicated much of his adult life to researching the exploits of Indiana's Civil War regiments and soldiers. Together with his son Kristopher, Ligget established the informative "Indiana in the Civil War" Web site several years ago.

In 2000, Guild Press of Indiana published "Coburn's Brigade: The 85th Indiana, 33rd Indiana, 19th Michigan, and 22nd Wisconsin in the Western Civil War," co-authored by Ligget and Frank J. Welcher.

The volume has earned critical acclaim. "Civil War News" wrote: "Ligget and Welcher have accomplished what few modern writers have even attempted -- they have written a history of a brigade through three years of war and produced a well-researched and interesting book which should appeal to any student of the war's western campaign."

Ligget is working on another Civil War book titled "Civil War Indianapolis."

At noon Thursday, Ligget will share his considerable knowledge of Civil War regiments and soldiers from the Wabash Valley during a presentation at the Brown Bag lecture series in the Vigo County Public Library at Seventh and Poplar streets.

What was the war sentiment in Terre Haute and the surrounding area at the time of the assault on Fort Sumter? What companies and regiments were mustered here? In what significant battles did men from west-central Indiana participate? Who were the leading military and political figures of the time? How strong was the Copperhead movement? How did women and children assist the war effort?

Those questions surely will be addressed, interspersed by poignant and fascinating tales of individual tragedy and valor.

You can expect to hear about familiar Wabash Valley names such as Col. Richard W. Thompson, Gen. Charles Cruft, Col. George K. Steele, Col. William E. McLean, Col. Melville Topping, Col. John P. Baird, Col. Alexander B. Crane, Major John Dufficy, Col. Henry D. Washburn, Col. Robert R. Stewart, Col. Bernard Mullen, Capt. John Blinn and many others.

Ligget also might allude to the civilian roles played by Congressman Daniel W. Voorhees, Secretary of Interior John P. Usher, Col. Thomas Henry Nelson and Dr. John G. Stephenson, all Terre Haute men.

It should be an entertaining hour.

Mike McCormick is the Vigo County historian. His column appears every Sunday in the Tribune-Star.