Category Archives: War

Fighting Yellow Jack in Cuba

Posted on September 16, 2014 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Letters, Research, War | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Have you ever heard of yellow fever? If you haven’t, give some of the credit to Dr. William Crawford Gorgas. In the early 20th century, following up on the work of Drs. Carlos Finlay and Walter Reed and others, he employed numerous sanitation … Continue reading →

Witness to the Fort Mims Massacre, 1813

Posted on August 30, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Letters, Southern History, War | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Normally, I would call this item a hidden gem, but the subject matter is pretty grisly. Two hundred years ago, during the Creek War, the “Red Stick” faction of the local Muskogee Creeks attacked and captured Fort Mims, less than … Continue reading →

Turbulent Times: Student Unrest of May 1970

Posted on May 8, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Photographs, UA History, Vietnam War | Tagged | Leave a comment

On May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, thirteen students were shot during a Vietnam War protest, four of them fatally. This event set off a chain reaction of protests at universities all around the country, including our … Continue reading →

A Civil War Perspective: Benjamin Gaston

Posted on April 8, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Civil War, Cool Collections, Newly Online, Small Collections, War | Leave a comment

Benjamin J. Gaston served as a first lieutenant with the Independent 2nd Battalion Alabama Volunteers and as a private in the 10th Alabama Cavalry.  He wrote several letters to his parents, and sometimes his brothers and sisters, between 1859 and … Continue reading →

Flashback to Emphasis ’68: Strom Thurmond

Posted on March 22, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Audio, Southern History, UA History, Vietnam War | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Continuing this week’s look back at Emphasis ’68, we deal with an archival reality — sometimes, things don’t survive long enough to be archived, but they often leave interesting traces behind. (Image from the 1969 Corolla yearbook) Senator Strom Thurmond … Continue reading →

Flashback to Emphasis ’68: John Kenneth Galbraith

Posted on March 20, 2013 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Audio, UA History, Vietnam War, War | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

We continue our look at Emphasis ’68 with a speech from John Kenneth Galbraith, who is introduced as an “antenna and synthesizer” of economics and social theory. Galbraith was a prominent economist and author, and he served in important posts … Continue reading →

Robert F. Kennedy’s Visit to UA

Posted on January 20, 2012 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Audio, UA History, Vietnam War | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Did you know that Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech at the University of Alabama in March of 1968, just months before he was assassinated? Kennedy was invited to the University to speak as part of the Emphasis Program, which … Continue reading →

Newly online: Soldier Land Grants

Posted on May 16, 2011 by kgmatheny | Posted in: Newly Online, War | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Land grants (generally 40 acres) were given in token of military service during the Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole Indian Wars, the Mexican War, the Florida War, and the War of 1812 or in recognition of volunteer service in a state … Continue reading →