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Full-Text Articles in History

Enduring The Elements: Civil War Soldiers’ Struggles Against The Weather, Cameron Boutin Jan 2023

Enduring The Elements: Civil War Soldiers’ Struggles Against The Weather, Cameron Boutin

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation is an environmental history that studies the variety of ways that soldiers in the American Civil War experienced the pressures of weather over the course of their military service. For the troops of the U.S. and Confederacy, the weather was more than simply a passive backdrop to their time in the military, but a central preoccupation. This dissertation analyzes how weather intersected with some of the most central experiences of soldiering – tent camping and winter quarters, marching, bivouacking, manning sentry posts and field fortifications, and fighting in battles. Life in Civil War armies consisted of all of …


With Every Means At Our Command: Burlington’S Dead In World War I, Michael Carter Jan 2023

With Every Means At Our Command: Burlington’S Dead In World War I, Michael Carter

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

When the United States entered the First World War in April of 1917, the people of Burlington, Vermont, pledged to support the cause “with every means at our command.” Some were indeed called upon to give the utmost: the core of this project will be the examination and exploration of the identities of those people of Burlington who lost their lives as a result of the conflict. This approach fills a historical gap, as little has been written about the experience of Burlington, or Vermont, in the war since the late 1920s. There were 55 men and women of Burlington …


“The Entire Army Says Hello”: Common Soldiers’ Experiences, Localism, And Army Reform In Britain And Prussia, 1739-1789, Alexander S. Burns Jan 2021

“The Entire Army Says Hello”: Common Soldiers’ Experiences, Localism, And Army Reform In Britain And Prussia, 1739-1789, Alexander S. Burns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation fundamentally questions the state of the field regarding militaries, state building, and narratives of modernity in the Kingdoms of Britain and Prussia. An examination of military stereotyping, common soldiers’ correspondence, religion, localism, and army reform all suggests that the British and Prussian militaries were mutually-intelligible and similar, not radically different. This similarity has broad implications for the modern history of these two European states. Britain was not on a straight road to whiggish parliamentary progress, and Prussia was not on a straight road to militarism and authoritarian rule. Rather, in second half of the eighteenth century, both of …


A War To Save Civilization: African American Soldiers In Britain During The Second World War, Joseph Dickinson Jun 2020

A War To Save Civilization: African American Soldiers In Britain During The Second World War, Joseph Dickinson

Voces Novae

During the Second World War, thousands of African American servicemen and women were sent to the British Isles as part of the war effort. Their arrival sparked a debate over American racial beliefs and how they would affect society in Britain, with many white Americans quickly finding that the locals were largely disapproving of the systems of segregation and discrimination common in the United States. Conflicts concerning race often escalated into violence between white soldiers, black soldiers, and the British civilians, forcing the American military to reevaluate their stance on discrimination and segregation in the armed forces.


Ulster, Georgia, And The Civil War: Stories Of Variation, William Loveless May 2020

Ulster, Georgia, And The Civil War: Stories Of Variation, William Loveless

Honors Theses

Ulster, Georgia, and The Civil War: Stories of Variation explores the lives of 13 men from Northern Ireland who immigrated to the American South and fought for the Confederacy. The author pursues the stories of each man’s life in order to have a more thorough understanding of what life looked like for Irish/Ulster immigrants in the South during the 19th century. By looking at the lives of the men in Ulster, their first experiences in the United States, their experiences in the Civil War, and their lives following the war, the author identifies more variation than consistent trends.


Requisitioned: American War Art Of The Second World War, Spenser Carroll-Johnson May 2020

Requisitioned: American War Art Of The Second World War, Spenser Carroll-Johnson

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

The United States requisitioned artists to assist with military objectives and servicemen requisitioned art as a form of rhetoric. This research reexamines the role of “official artists” and thereby extends its definition to include the multitude of art they produced during the Second World War. The underpinnings of this thesis reside during the economic crises of the 1930s that brought about American emergency relief initiatives for artists under the direction of Holger Cahill and, by extension, Edward Bruce. For the first time in history, the American public engaged with state-sponsored art. Due to a symbiotic relationship that formed between the …


Peter, William Henry, 1840-1865 (Sc 3510), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Feb 2020

Peter, William Henry, 1840-1865 (Sc 3510), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text transcripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3510. Letters from W. Henry Peter to his sister in Brighton, Illinois. Stationed with the 122nd Illinois Infantry at Paducah, Kentucky on 11 December 1863, he recounts his regiment’s travel there by steamer to a camp site previously occupied by another regiment. He reports receiving a backlog of mail, expresses confidence in the strength of his regiment’s position and its supporting gunboats, and urges her and other family members to visit him. His letter of 12January 1864 reports his assignment as clerk for a military …


Madden, Cornelius J., 1842-1903 (Sc 3494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Dec 2019

Madden, Cornelius J., 1842-1903 (Sc 3494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3494. Letter, 17 November 1862, to his mother from Cornelius Madden, serving with the 102nd Ohio Infantry at Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes an increase in patrols and fortifications precipitated by rumors of guerrilla leader John Hunt Morgan’s presence in the area. Anticipating an encampment for the winter, he suggests his mother and other “widows” send a box of provisions, prepaid in order to save expense. He reports hearing nothing of his father, also in military service, who he believes to be at Nashville, Tennessee. …


Warr, Joseph W., 1836-1864 (Sc 3482), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2019

Warr, Joseph W., 1836-1864 (Sc 3482), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on “Additional Files” below for Manuscripts Small Collection 3482. Letter, 11 February 1862, to his mother and siblings from Joseph Warr, Company A, 2nd Minnesota Volunteers. From Somerset, Kentucky, he writes of troop movements toward Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he expects a victorious battle. He describes a recent encounter with Confederate forces crossing the Cumberland River and the severe wounds of those taken prisoner, but declares that the enemy would otherwise have shown no mercy. He notes the long knives of the Confederates (“Mississippi toothpicks”) and the homemade quality of their uniforms. He also urges …


Evans, Ray Estil, 1913-1981 (Sc 3469), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Sep 2019

Evans, Ray Estil, 1913-1981 (Sc 3469), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3469. Military service records for Roy Estil "Sarge" Evans, a native of Warren County, Kentucky, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Included is a calendar from the "War Prisoner's Aid of the Young Men's Christian Association" in which he marked off the days he was imprisoned as a POW in a German stalag. (Click on "Additional Files" below for scan.) In pencil he wrote "Stalag Luft One Room Four" and marked off days in January - April of 1945. Also includes photocopies of two photographs in the Kentucky Library Research …


Hardesty, Isaac Ellis, 1841-1917 (Sc 3464), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Aug 2019

Hardesty, Isaac Ellis, 1841-1917 (Sc 3464), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3464. Letters, 11 September 1862 and 4 April 1863, to his family from Isaac Hardesty, serving with the 99th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. From camp near Covington, Kentucky, he reports on his health and his efforts to have his clothing shipped home; he also describes his fortified camp, the sounds of battle nearby, the dangers posed to pickets, and his pleasure at glimpsing his home state from the nearby hills. From Louisville, Kentucky, he writes of his painful arm and his longing to be at home, but without …


Obetz, Jeremiah H., 1843-1923 (Sc 3444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2019

Obetz, Jeremiah H., 1843-1923 (Sc 3444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of transcriptions (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3444. Letters of Jeremiah H. Obetz, Manheim, Pennsylvania, to his former employer Henry C. Gingrich, written during his service with the 9th Pennsylvania (Lochiel) Cavalry at Camp Dunham near Bowling Green, Kentucky, and at Camp Andy Johnson near Jeffersonville, Indiana. Obetz describes the pursuit of Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan, the death of a comrade, camp life, and his confidence that England could not interfere successfully against the Union. He also reports on the strength of fortifications at recently recaptured Bowling Green. Suffering from …


Gibble, Harrison H., 1822-1898 (Sc 3443), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jun 2019

Gibble, Harrison H., 1822-1898 (Sc 3443), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Letter, 5 January 1862, of Harrison Gibble, 79th Pennsylvania Infantry, to his friend Henry Gingrich in Manheim, Pennsylvania. From Camp Wood, Munfordville, Kentucky, Gibble writes of the cold weather, the repair of a bridge across the Green River that had been destroyed by Confederates, the construction of floating bridges, and his company’s anticipated move to Cave City, Kentucky. He also relays reports of Confederate withdrawal toward Nashville and of 5,000 sick in hospital at Bowling Green. He mentions the names of other Manheim soldiers in his regiment, asks Gingrich to draw funds for his wife out of his next pay, …


Todd, Theophilus Law, 1841-1963 (Sc 3435), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2019

Todd, Theophilus Law, 1841-1963 (Sc 3435), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3435. Letter, 19-21 September 1862, from Theophilus L. Todd to his sister Agnes Jane Todd. Camped near Louisville, Kentucky while serving with the 93rd Ohio Infantry, Todd thanks her for a package of food and clothing. He describes his surroundings and camp life, including the friendly reception the troops received in Louisville and competition between the camp sutler and local women in the sale of foodstuffs. He also writes critically of the behavior of Brigadier General James S. Jackson during a lengthy and tiresome review of the brigade.


Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3332), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Feb 2019

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3332), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3332. Letters of George Messer to his wife Lottie, written while serving with the 107th Illinois Infantry. Writing on 7-9 December 1862 from Camp Waller near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where part of his regiment is guarding the railroad, he describes the camp and includes a sketch; he also writes of two desertions, of procuring some fresh meat, of an officer who has contracted a venereal disease, and of the local populace who he finds “at least one half century behind the times.” In a letter of 25 July …


Redfern, Alfred Francis, 1848-1913 (Sc 3327), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Feb 2019

Redfern, Alfred Francis, 1848-1913 (Sc 3327), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3327. Letter, 24 December 1863, to his parents from Alfred Redfern, serving at Point Isabel, Kentucky with the 91st Indiana Volunteers. He reports orders to march to Knoxville, Tennessee, despite his hopes of remaining at the now-fortified camp until he is mustered out. He also reports on receipt of money and other gifts from home, sending some of his pay to a friend in New Albany, and the likelihood of a poor Christmas dinner of fat pork and crackers.


Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3323), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jan 2019

Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3323), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript for Manuscripts Small Collection 3323. Letter, 20 February 1862, from John L. Hebron to his mother in Steubenville, Ohio. He reports his regiment’s arrival on the outskirts of Bowling Green, Kentucky, taken from Confederate forces “without firing a gun,” and describes attempting to cross a ruined bridge, his living quarters in a deserted house, and available food supplies. In a 25 February postscript from Nashville, Tennessee, he writes of the troops’ continued lack of success in crossing the river into Bowling Green, and mentions reports that the Confederates plan to “make a stand” south of Nashville. …


Minton, John Dean, Sr., 1921-2008 (Mss 660), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jan 2019

Minton, John Dean, Sr., 1921-2008 (Mss 660), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 660. Letters written by John D. Minton, Sr. to his brother, Layton Minton, while both were in military service during World War II. The collection also contains a small amount of Minton family correspondence and some vocational agriculture notebooks kept by the brothers while in high school.


Dennis, John, 1832?-1914 - Letter To (Sc 3300), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Dennis, John, 1832?-1914 - Letter To (Sc 3300), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid, scan and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3300. Letter, 2 January 1862, to John Dennis and his parents, Richland County, Ohio from John’s brother. In camp near Bardstown, Kentucky with the 64th Regiment, Company B, Ohio Volunteers, he praises Kentucky’s farms, crops and springs, and refers to two men of his acquaintance: William Clark, who is serving with the Confederate Army, and Charles Clark, who he met in Louisville, Kentucky and who boasted of his regiment’s superior skills and African American servants. The envelope bears a pro-Union image.


Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Nov 2018

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3297), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3297. Letter, 10 August 1863, of George Messer to his wife Lottie Messer in DeWitt County, Illinois, written from camp southwest of Lebanon, Kentucky. He describes the forces gathering in the area and praises his current officers. Despite the amenities of his camp, he recounts the prevalence of illness and his struggle with chronic diarrhea, which he fears will prevent him and others from accompanying the regiment on a planned march to east Tennessee.


Hobson, William Edward, 1844-1909 - Relating To (Sc 3283), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Hobson, William Edward, 1844-1909 - Relating To (Sc 3283), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3283. Certificate of Honorable Discharge, 23 January 1899, issued to William E. Hobson, Bowling Green, Kentucky, by Post No. 55, Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kentucky. The certificate includes data about Hobson’s service and the date he joined the Post.


Row, Jacob D., 1835-1910 (Sc 3281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Row, Jacob D., 1835-1910 (Sc 3281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3281. Letter, 4 December 1864, of Jacob D. Row, 17th Indiana Infantry, to his wife Hannah in Lakeville, Indiana. Writing from Louisville, Kentucky, he tells of improving from an illness but complains of weakness and tremors. He advises her to “sell our corn for what you can get” prior to a trip to Ohio, as he will not be coming home on furlough.


Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Oct 2018

Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3278. Letters to Lucy Ann Robbins Ligon, the daughter of Fulton County, Kentucky judge Josiah Parker and his wife Lucy A. Parker, written while she lived in Crittenden County, Arkansas with her late husband’s brother, and in Hickman, Kentucky after her remarriage. Lucy’s parents relay news of her siblings and of pre-Civil War Hickman, and at the outbreak of war dramatically describe the division of loyalties, the townspeople’s fear and uncertainty as invasion threatens from the North, the enlistment of local men, two destructive fires, economic conditions, …


Morgan, William Montrose, 1842-1926 (Sc 3231), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2018

Morgan, William Montrose, 1842-1926 (Sc 3231), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3231. Letter, 2 February 1862, of William Montrose Morgan to his parents and sisters, of Wisconsin. From Camp Wood, Kentucky, he writes of the rainy and snowy weather; the number of soldiers sick in company regiments; he describes his regiment and his brigade commander as being the best in the division. He comments about the regiment being on guard duty and held in reserve to protect a bridge and ferry on Green River. He further reports that there are 20,000 men in his regiment under General Negley; …


Kibbee, Amos Watson, 1828-1915 (Sc 3230), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jul 2018

Kibbee, Amos Watson, 1828-1915 (Sc 3230), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3230. Letter, 26 January 1862, of Amos Watson Kibbee to his cousin, Hattie Tuttle, of Painesville, Ohio. From Camp Barker in Cairo, Illinois, he writes about camp life and rumors of possible cavalry soldiers being discharged and his experiences of late-night scouting duties. He also describes being in an advance guard with other soldiers, taking the town of Blandville, Kentucky, and arresting suspicious civilians. He writes about guarding a prisoner of war, and his change of religious views. Includes an Illinois Union envelope.


Buckberry, Ray B., Jr., B. 1934 (Sc 3227), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jun 2018

Buckberry, Ray B., Jr., B. 1934 (Sc 3227), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3227. “Warren County War Dead: World War I,” by Ray Buckberry, Jr., a compilation containing data on Warren County, Kentucky soldiers who died in World War I. Includes data on overseas cemeteries and visits by Gold Star mothers and wives of the dead.


Garner, Thomas A., 1930-1984 - Letters To (Sc 3209), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2018

Garner, Thomas A., 1930-1984 - Letters To (Sc 3209), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3209. Letters and photographs sent to Thomas A. Garner while he served in the Korean War. The letters are from his mother and sisters of Morrisonville, Illinois, and from Kay Louise Edwards, Taylorsville, Illinois. They provide information about the family farm and local happenings. The photographs are unidentified but include images of servicemen and barracks as well as farm equipment.


Miller, George W., B. 1843? (Sc 3220), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2018

Miller, George W., B. 1843? (Sc 3220), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3220. Letter, 19 January 1863, of George W. Miller to his sister. In camp at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the unhappy soldier writes of the threat of death from battle and disease, of “tyrannical” officers, and of a debt owed to him at home. He is angered to learn that an uncle in Fostoria, Ohio is a secessionist. He also mentions his brother Jacob’s engagement in a “big fight” lasting five days.


Williams, Samuel J., D. 1864 (Sc 3167), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jan 2018

Williams, Samuel J., D. 1864 (Sc 3167), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3167. Letter, 31 October 1861, of Samuel J. Williams, 33rd Indiana Infantry, to “friend Lorinda.” From Camp Calvert in Laurel County, Kentucky, he writes of illness among the soldiers and of preparing the camp’s defenses. He also writes of a nervous sentry’s mistaking a tree stump for an intruder, two orders to prepare for battle, and the capture of two Confederates. The letterhead includes an engraving of a flag-bearing woman and the slogan “Onward to Victory!”


Frazier, William?, D. 1863 (Sc 3168), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives Jan 2018

Frazier, William?, D. 1863 (Sc 3168), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3168. Unsigned letter, 31 January 1862, thought to be from William Frazier of the 33rd Indiana Infantry, to a female friend. Writing from Camp Henderson, Kentucky, he sympathizes with her inability to take time from her studies to correspond. He also refers to the weather and his duties as a cook, and mourns the recent deaths of two members of his company.