DAPHNE, Ala. — SPANISH FORT — The standing-room-only crowd at Blakeley State Park’s Gatra Wehle Nature Center received far more than it anticipated Thursday evening when author E.O. Wilson stepped to the lectern.

Armed with fresh printings of the native Mobilian’s first novel, “Anthill,” and dog-eared copies of the renowned naturalist’s Pulitzer Prize-winning works of non-fiction, the crowd of devotees expected a lively discussion of his newest work and a generous helping of his famous wit.

While he delivered the latter, Wilson’s address actually centered upon the reading of excerpts from his recently completed draft manuscript, “Why We Are Here,” a collaboration with photographer Alex Harris, slated for release in 2011.

The work, Wilson said, seeks to capture the unique spirit of Mobilians by painting a “careful and admiring portrait.”

“They are different. They are proud. And they identify themselves more as a community,” said Wilson, moments after reading the portion of the manuscript dealing specifically with the Battle of Blakeley, the last major battle of the Civil War.

The area is of particular importance to him, Wilson said, because his great-great-grandmother was born in Blakeley in 1826, but was moved into Mobile as an infant to avoid the second of two yellow fever epidemics that ruined the thriving settlement’s chances of establishing itself as the region’s primary port.

As an aside, the environmentalist, ecologist and entomologist noted that the region is often erroneously referred to as a swamp throughout historical accounts, but the Blakeley area is actually a flood plain forest, an ecological rarity in the United States.

“By the 1830s, this was a ghost town,” Wilson said, before shifting back to the business at hand and recounting his experience several years earlier when asked to participate in the historic park’s re-enactment of the battle.

Wilson said he was particularly amazed by the authenticity of everything from the guns fired to “every article of clothing worn,” and said he remains to this day keenly “aware of the special grace still present in the memory of that last battle.”

“No performance on any stage,” he said, carries the weight and significance of historical events because “authenticity is, if anything, a rare quality in American life today.”

Wilson closed his reading by presenting Elizabeth Covan, his first cousin once removed, with the watch chain belonging to his great-grandfather, James Eli Joyner, who fought during the Battle of Blakeley but died several years later in a boat fire at the age of only 26.

Barbara Sims of Daphne sat stunned in the rear of the crowded room following Wilson’s address.

“I knew it would be interesting, but this was just unbelievable,” Sims said, waiting in vain for the crowd at the book signing table—presented by Page & Palette Book Store in Fairhope—to dissipate.

“I’m happy just sitting here (with)in earshot listening to him tell stories. He has such a gift,” Sims said.

Alida Given of Magnolia Springs agreed, clutching both “Anthill” and Wilson’s autobiography, “The Naturalist.”

“It’s just such a readable book,” Given said of the latter. “I’m really hoping somebody—someday—will make a children’s book out of it.”

Park Director Jo Ann Flirt said the staff struggled with finding the most appropriate way to honor a man whose life and career embody the facility’s dual mission of promoting both nature and history.

Park officials on Thursday unveiled a marker officially naming the facility’s sprawling boardwalk the E.O. Wilson Boardwalk.

After bestowing Wilson with an honorary lifetime membership to the park, naming him an honorary park ranger and presenting him with both a Confederate forage cap and a national championship T-Shirt from the University of Alabama, his alma mater, Flirt said simply:

“You honor us with your presence.”