Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Tiger's Rest: A Reflection On The Killed At Gettysburg Profile Of Horthere Fontenot, Zachary A. Wesley

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

As soon as I was assigned to the Killed at Gettysburg project, I knew that I wanted to work with a French Creole soldier. I have a soft spot for Louisiana troops, you see (along with Mississippians, but that is irrelevant here), partly because of my childhood filled with Scooby Doo. One film I remember particularly well is Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. To any of y’all who are unfamiliar with the film, let me give you a brief run-down. Scooby and the gang visit Moonscar Island out in the Louisiana Bayous with the promise that they will find …

Making Photographs Speak, Cameron T. Sauers, Benjamin M. Roy, James T. Goodman

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

It has often been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Making that picture spit out those mythical thousand words, as we can all attest, is no easy task. Over the course of the first half of the fall semester, the three of us were tasked with developing brief interpretive captions for two Civil War photographs each, with the end goal to display our work at the Civil War Institute’s 2019 Summer Conference. What initially appeared as a simple project quickly revealed itself to be a difficult, yet rewarding, challenge that taught us all important lessons concerning …

A Soldier Of The North And South: The Remembrance Day Legacy Of Minion Knott, Ryan Bilger

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For the third straight semester, I have returned to the Killed at Gettysburg project to chronicle the life and death of another soldier who lost his life in southern Pennsylvania. My personal interest in this project has not waned since I authored the first of my five profiles of Union soldiers in Dr. Carmichael’s “Gettysburg in History and Memory” course in the spring of 2017. I firmly believe that no interpretation of the Battle of Gettysburg is complete without a strong understanding of the unique lives that were extinguished there. This reminds us all that the battle was fought by …

Halbert, William Clarence, 1856-1931 (Sc 3310), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3310. Certificate, 22 March 1900, of the appointment on 5 December 1899 of William C. Halbert as 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry, Kentucky State Guard. Signed by Governor William S. Taylor, who requested that a militia company be raised in anticipation of violence following the contested gubernatorial election of 1899.

The Forging Of Freedom: Slave Refugee Camps In The Civil War: An Interview Amy Murrell Taylor, Ashley Whitehead Luskey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Today we are speaking with Amy Murrell Taylor, Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky. She is the author of Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps (UNC Press, 2018), as well as The Divided Family in Civil War America (UNC Press, 2005). Her research has been supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies. Taylor has also served as a consultant for public history sites and is currently an editorial advisor for the Civil War Monitor magazine. [excerpt]

Strahm Family Collection (Mss 655), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 655. Data, clippings and information about the Strahm family and related families. Most of the material relates to Franz J. Strahm, WKU music director from 1910-1941, and his son Victor H. Strahm’s career in military service. Includes photographs of Franz, Victor, and other family members.

Flip Side Of The Coin: The Unpleasant Reality Of Hatred, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

November 19th saw the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, and with it, one of the highlights of the year: The annual Fortenbaugh Lecture. The goal of the annual Fortenbaugh lecture is to capture the spirit of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and make academic history accessible to the general public. This year’s lecturer was Dr. George Rable, Professor Emeritus and formerly the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama. Dr. Rable’s reputation as a prolific scholar of the Civil War era is well known, with 6 books to his credit, including Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg! which won the 2003 …

A Common Soldier: William H. P. Ivey, Isaac J. Shoop

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

When I set out to pick a soldier for my first Killed at Gettysburg project, I did not know what I would find. I chose to research a Confederate soldier named William H. P. Ivey simply because he was born and raised on a farm, like me. As I did my research, I realized that Ivey’s life tells us a lot about the motivations and thoughts of a common southern soldier in the Civil War. Like most Confederate infantrymen, Ivey’s family was of the lower class and they were not slaveholders. Ivey, along with his brother Hinton, enlisted in the …

World At War: Final Research Paper, Elise Nelson

History Class Publications

The Ottoman Empire reigned for over five centuries throughout today’s Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Southern Europe, starting around 1299. However, after World War I, it completely disbanded, creating several nation-states. What led to the fall of this massive Empire? There seem to be several factors including actions of World War I. Both the Allies and the Entente fought in the Middle East, each side supporting different groups within the Ottoman Empire. During the World War I period, the Young Turks, those in government in the Ottoman Empire, desired to create a “Turanian nationality.” This included a “Turkification” …

A Hidden History: Alexandria’S Slave Pen And The Domestic Slave Trade, Savannah Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Historical objects often have dark and horrible stories hidden just beneath their unassuming and innocent visage. The picture above is one such example of this type of object. At first glance the photo seems to depict a simple brick building; however, this building is anything but simple. It was used as a slave pen in the 19th century. Slave pens were buildings in which slaves were imprisoned and prepared for sale. The one pictured above was located in Alexandria, Virginia, the site of a major slave-trading center. While this photo’s association with the slave trade makes the photo a deeply …

North Korea’S Nuclear Program And Negotiation: How Nuclear Negotiation During The Clinton Years Produced Lessons For Current International Relations, Brian Hilliker

Senior Honors Theses

North Korea’s road of survival began in the aftermath of World War II, when the United States and the Soviet Union sparred over rival ideologies. Ultimately, Korea split into a free south and an authoritarian north. Over seventy years later, North Korea remains a bastion of communism. Nuclear weaponry is a factor behind North Korea’s survival, and the history of their program can offer insight for American policy makers today. This paper offers a history of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program during the Clinton presidency, along with recommendations for present day policy makers. Without an understanding of history decision-makers tend …

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

MSS 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.

More Than A Stereotype?: A Reflection On The Life Of Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Jonathan Tracey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For my most recent, and likely final, foray into the Killed at Gettysburgdigital project, I delved into the story of Major Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Adjutant for “Alleghany” Johnson’s Division. This has certainly been a departure from my previous projects, Private Hannibal Howell of the 76th New York Infantry and Private James Bedell of the 7th Michigan Cavalry. Rather than examining unknown stories of Union privates, I worked to narrate the life and death of a Confederate officer. This was certainly a challenge, both because I lacked familiarity with Confederate primary sources and because of my inherent Unionist biases. I …

War’S Tragic Pawn, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Students, faculty, and local art buffs packed Schmucker Art Gallery here at Gettysburg College on October 25th to hear CWI Director, Peter Carmichael talk about visual depictions of warfare. The talk was given as a part of the ongoing exhibition, “The Plains of Mars: European War Prints 1500-1815,” which features an array of war prints depicting a range of both heroic and tragic moments of warfare. This semester I have been closely studying and writing about 19th-century images of warfare to help curate a photography exhibit for this summer’s CWI Conference, so I was intrigued by what Dr. Carmichael had …

Weir Family Collection (Mss 651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 651. Letters and papers of the Weir family of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and related members of the Rumsey and Miller families. Well-to-do merchants and farmers, the Weirs were leading supporters of the Union during the Civil War, providing advocacy, financial support, and military service. Includes full-text scans of a letter from the brother of steamboat pioneer James Rumsey defending his legacy as an innovator; James Weir's journal; James Weir's will; the annotated recollections of Edward Weir, Sr.; and two letters from former Weir slaves recolonized in Liberia (Click on "Additional files" below).

Understanding The True Nature Of War: Dr. James Clifton’S Lecture Mediated War, James T. Goodman

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Wartime artwork allows us to experience certain aspects of battle and its aftermath and yet to also be distanced from it: When viewing the artwork, we get a small visual window into the carnage and devastation of war, but we are spared the affronts to our other senses. This concept was present in Dr. James Clifton’s lecture, Meditated War. Dr. Clifton, the director of the Sarah Cambell Blaffer Foundation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, coordinated with Gettysburg College to loan the collection of European war prints for the exhibit, The Plains of Mars. The exhibition is …

Recording The Ruckus: Field Desks And Battlefield Administration, Elizabeth C. Hobbs

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For most people, the American Civil War calls to mind images of artillery, bayonet charges, waves of blue and gray uniforms, and daring acts of bravery and heroism. What we forget, however, is that behind every shift in an army’s position or deployment of troops was a long line of administration. Effective communication, as well as accurate record keeping of supply and personnel movements, recording the order of events of each engagement, and documenting the number of men engaged and lost, was crucial to the safety of soldiers and the success or failure of the war effort. During the Civil …

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

MSS 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.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 94, No. 12, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Heicelbech, Evan & Rebeckah Alvey. Molded – Dormitories
• DeLetter, Emily & Nicole Ziege. 348 Minton Hall Residents Spend Weekend Relocating
• DeLetter, Emily. WKU to Continue Saudi Scholarship Between Countries
• DeLetter, Emily. ROTC Celebrates 100 Years at WKU, Honors Veterans
• Non-Binary: Proposal Disregards Science, Harms Non-binary Rights
• Allen, Ellie. Editorial Cartoon re: Gender Does Not Equal Sex
• Hanks, Michelle. Teaching Diversity
• Sisler, Julie. Review: Hair and the Call to Freedom & Expression – Theatre & Dance
• Holland, Kelley. In Formation – Marching Band
• Bryant, Maxis. Fresh …

Thompson, B. F. (Sc 3296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid, scan and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3296. Letter, 27 July 1863, to his wife from B. F. Thompson, in camp with the Union Army near Danville, Kentucky. He details preparations for a march, including the issue of new guns and equipment and packing up old guns for return. He reports a rumor of Confederates crossing the Cumberland River but is uncertain of his regiment’s next movements.

Watson, Nancy Anne, 1924-2013 (Sc 3294), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3294. Letters, 9 and 15 June 1945, of Nancy Anne Watson, Louisville, Kentucky, to future husband A. Park Shaw, Jr. during his military service. She encloses her poem about the upcoming Kentucky Derby, and writes of her related social activities and wagers on the races. Her comments about a dinner with meat, and of using old clothes and cosmetics, allude to wartime shortages.

The Perfect Vessel Of Grief: Women And Mourning Photography, Savannah Labbe

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

After her father died, the girl in the photo above went through a highly ritualized and formalized process of Victorian mourning. This process radically changed with the invention of photography in 1839. Now one could record the grieving process, which is what the photograph above accomplished. The photograph is a typical mourning portrait, depicting the mourner (the little girl in this case), with the photo of her deceased loved one in her hands. Like so many other photographs, this one recorded the grieving process, allowing loved ones to keep a piece of that person even after their death. 19th-century photographs …

Enhancing Your Intelligence Agency Information Resource Iq: Pt. 4: National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (Ngia), National Intelligence University (Niu), And National Reconnaissance Office (Nro), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Webinar presentation on publicly accessible information resources produced by the U.S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA), National Intelligence University (NIU), and National Reconnaissance Office. Places significant emphasis on missions of these agencies, their historical accomplishments, coverage of their educational activity, and information on the technologies they have used and are currently using to fulfill their institutional objectives.

The Germans And Swiss At The Battle Of The Little Bighorn 1876, Albert Winkler

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to examine the Germans and the Swiss who participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn to understand who they were, to assess their motives for joining the cavalry, and to appraise their experience in battle.

Unspeakable Suffering; Eloquent Explanations: National Civil War Medicine Museum’S 26th Annual Conference, Benjamin M. Roy, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On Friday, October 12th, 2018, the National Civil War Medicine Museum kicked off its 26th annual conference and began its three-day event with a series of lectures on topics ranging from Confederate medical practice to cultural understandings of cowardice. A series of unique lectures given by a professionally diverse cast of presenters illuminated the often-peripheral field of Civil War Medicine. [excerpt]

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

MSS 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.

Mackinder And The Arctic's Emerging Geopolitics: Recommendations For The U.S. And Its Nato Allies, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation shows how Halford Mackinder (1861-1947) described Canada and the Arctic region in his geopolitical writings. It goes on to stress how the Arctic is becoming increasingly important in international geopolitical policymaking due to its significant oil and natural gas resources, how warming temperatures are increasing international access to its waters, and the how countries as diverse as Canada, China, Russia, and the U.S. see the Arctic region in their strategic policymaking. It concludes by stressing that the Arctic can no longer be viewed as a region immune from international conflict and presents recommendations for the U.S. and its …

Hot Off The Press: War Matters Review, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This collection of essays illustrates that a material culture approach to the past can help us better understand some of the deeper complexities of the Civil War era, such as the expansion of consumer culture, the common soldier’s experience, and behavioral history, as well as issues of race, bondage, and emancipation. Cashin argues that it is important to study the objects featured within the book to understand their multi-valenced roles in the daily lives of 19th-century Americans, as well as the cultural and emotional significance they held for those who utilized them. From Robert Hicks’s essay on vaccinating the Confederate …

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

MSS 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

MSS 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, …