History Commons^™

In Their Footsteps, In Their Words: Special Section, 1914-1963

Colby Magazine

Three wars. A devastating economic depression. Construction of an entirely new campus from scratch. And all in 50 years.

The period that began as World War I erupted and ended as the tumult of the 1960s loomed was marked by a series of unprecedented events that could have mortally wounded a modestly funded liberal arts college in central Maine. The Great War emptied the campus. World War II turned Colby into a military training center. The bold decision to move the College to Mayflower Hill was sandwiched by the Depression and the Korean War and marked by the return of …

In Their Footsteps, In Their Words: Special Section, 1864-1913

Colby Magazine

In Their Footsteps and In Their Words: Colby explores the second 50 years, 1864-1913.

The Death Of Al-ʿAbbās B. Al-MaʾMūn And A “Thwarted” Coup D’État, John P. Turner

Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the point at which the slave soldiers of al-Muʿtaṣim (r. a.h. 218–227/833–842 c.e.) rose to the political forefront and came to dominate the holder of the Caliphal seat. It is a study of the mechanisms by which the center of the state, and more specifically the Caliph, came to be their captives.

Shadows Of Kabul: Qiam Amiry Now Ponders Afghanistan's Troubles From Afar, John Campbell

Colby Magazine

A few years ago, Qiam Amiry ’09 was walking the streets of Kabul working as an interpreter for the British military. Now, on Mayflower Hill, Amiry has found sanctuary but has not escaped the issues facing his country.

History With A Twist: Earl Smith Brings A New Perspective To The Life Of The College, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

The new book, Mayflower Hill: A History of Colby College, has been released. Author and College Historian Earl Smith combines an insider’s view of Colby with a broad cultural perspective for a lively, informative, and sometimes irreverent read.

Breaking The Ice: A Century After Amundsen's Historic Arctic Voyage, Alvo Martin And The U.S. Coast Guard Retrace The Explorer's Frozen Route, Robert Gillespie

Colby Magazine

A century after Roald Amundsen's successful voyage in the search for a Northwest Passage, Alvo Martin '51 followed the same route.

The Forgotten War: How The First "Cold War War" Affected Colby, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

A half-century after a truce ended war on the Korean Peninsula, Colby veterans and students of that era recall their college experience.

In Their Footsteps, In Their Words: Special Section, 1813-1863

Colby Magazine

In Their Footsteps and In Their Words: Colby explores the first 50 years, from Jeremiah Chaplin to the Civil War.

Green Light Over The Drop Zone: American Army And Marine Paratroopers In World War Ii, Audrey Lomax

Honors Theses

One of the greatest military inventions to come from World War II, a war unprecedented in casualties, geographic scale, and technology, was the addition of Special Forces to the military. As a pioneer of Special Forces in the United States, the airborne proved to be one of the most unique, dangerous, and expensive Special Forces in the war. By the end of 1940, many belligerent countries had airborne units, including Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Japan, France, and the United Sates. American Chief of Air Service William Mitchell came up with the idea at the end of …

When The Confederates Terrorized Maine: The Battle Of Portland Harbor, Carter Stevens

Honors Theses

Saturday, June 27, 1863, dawned brightly over Portland, Maine. As the city’s residents began to go about their weekend business, they suddenly realized that the Caleb Cushing, the United States Revenue Cutter (U.S.R.C.) which had been stationed in Portland Harbor on and off again since 1853, was missing. Rumors flew about a traitorous Southerner on board, the work of pirates on the coast, and more. Before the day was over, the revenue cutter would be destroyed and the Casco Bay area would be transformed forever, a victim of one of the northernmost events of the Civil War on the periphery. …

"Kill The Indian, Save The Man," Americanization Through Education: Richard Henry Pratt's Legacy, Lindsay Peterson

Honors Theses

"Even wild turkeys only need the environment and kind treatment of domestic civilized life to become a very part of it.” Richard Henry Pratt made this observation while preparing for Thanksgiving with his family in 1867 in response to his interactions with Native Americans on the frontier. He served out West as second lieutenant in the 10th United States Cavalry, an African American regiment. The basic idea behind Pratt’s mentality was that the Indians’ inferiority was cultural, not racial, and that even Native Americans could become educated and “civilized” if only given the same opportunities provided to white Americans, African …

The American Rifled Musket: Technical Revolution Or Tactical Redundancy?, Alexandre F. Caillot

Honors Theses

The German soldier and military writer Freiherr von Bülow (1755-1816) once said that tactics were “the science of movements which are made in the presence of the enemy, that is, within his view, and within reach of his artillery.” This viewpoint, which he espoused in his seminal text Spirit of the System of Modern War (published in German in 1799), was representative of principles that would hold dominion over much of 19th-century-military thought. However, the 1850s was hardly a time of intellectual stagnation in which innovation lacked amongst the military theorists of Europe. Indeed, it was a period of discovery …