Tag Archives: patriotic

UA Army ROTC Scrapbooks

Since last fall, we’ve had the opportunity to digitize a sizable set of large scrapbooks from a surprising source: the University of Alabama Army ROTC. Who knew that military men and women could be so interesting! Dating from 1953 to … Continue reading

Symbols of liberty

The Wade Hall Sheet Music collection features a great deal of music from the first two decades of the 20th century, especially music related to World War I. Maybe because America took so long to enter the war, it seems … Continue reading

Emmett Dendy WWII Air Mission Diary

One of our newest collections was donated by Emmett Dendy, a ball turret gunner in World War II. In the spring of 1945, he recorded 22 air missions in an Air Force Souvenir Handybook. Below is a typical entry: This … Continue reading

Life Studies of the Great Army

One of our great small digital collections is Life Studies of the Great Army, a book of etchings depicting scenes from the Civil War. Published in 1876, it features the work of Edwin Forbes, a relatively well known landscape artist. … Continue reading

Veterans Day and the World War I armistice

The United States has recognized November 11 as Veterans Day since 1954. But we’ve been observing this date even longer — since 1919, in fact, when it was known as Armistice Day. November 11 marks the anniversary of the WWI … Continue reading

The Civil War’s Lyrical Battlefield

We all know the Civil War had a seismic impact on our country. Did you know that its effects trickled down to the music publishing industry? UA Libraries Special Collections has a lot of 19th and early 20th century sheet … Continue reading

Happy Birthday John Philip Sousa!

Sunday, November 6, marks the 157th anniversary of the birth of John Philip Sousa. Sousa was an American composer and conductor and is well-known for his American military and patriotic marches. Because of his proficiency writing these types of pieces, … Continue reading

Happy Independence Day!

This Independence Day, we are celebrating by taking a look at some of our patriotic sheet music. The image displayed here is from “Grand Festival March,” which was composed to commemorate the centennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration … Continue reading

Happy Memorial Day!

In honor of Memorial Day, we are highlighting one of our collections that features our veterans, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Service Men’s Center Scrapbook.  This volume contains photographs, letters, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, activity programs, and other items relating to the … Continue reading