ALABAMA HERITAGE
  • Magazine
    • Current and Back Issues >
      • Back Issues 141-150 >
        • Issue 147, Winter 2023
        • Issue 146, Fall 2022
        • Issue 145, Summer 2022
        • Issue 144, Spring 2022
        • Issue 143, Winter 2022
        • Issue 142, Fall 2021
        • Issue 141, Summer 2021
      • Back Issues 131-140 >
        • Issue 140, Spring 2021
        • Issue 139, Winter 2021
        • Issue 138, Fall 2020
        • Issue 137, Summer 2020
        • Issue 136, Spring 2020
        • Issue 135, Winter 2020
        • Issue 134, Fall 2019
        • Issue 133, Summer 2019
        • Issue 132 Spring 2019
        • Issue 131, Winter 2019
      • Back Issues 121-130 >
        • Issue 130, Fall 2018
        • Issue 129, Summer 2018
        • Issue 128, Spring 2018
        • Issue 127, Winter 2018
        • Issue 126, Fall 2017
        • Issue 125 Summer 2017
        • Issue 124, Spring 2017
        • Issue 123, Winter 2017
        • Issue 122, Fall 2016
        • Issue 121, Summer 2016
      • Back Issues 111-120 >
        • Issue 120, Spring 2016
        • Issue 119, Winter 2016
        • Issue 118, Fall 2015
        • Issue 117, Summer 2015
        • Issue 116, Spring 2015
        • Issue 115, Winter 2015
        • Issue 114, Fall 2014
        • Issue 113, Summer 2014
        • Issue 112, Spring 2014
        • Issue 111, Winter 2014
      • Back Issues 101-110 >
        • Issue 110, Fall 2013
        • Issue 109, Summer 2013
        • Issue 108, Spring 2013
        • Issue 107, Winter 2013
        • Issue 106, Fall 2012
        • Issue 105, Summer 2012
        • Issue 104, Spring 2012
        • Issue 103, Winter 2012
        • Issue 102, Fall 2011
        • Issue 101, Summer 2011
      • Back Issues 91-100 >
        • Issue 100, Spring 2011
        • Issue 99, Winter 2011
        • Issue 98, Fall 2010
        • Issue 97, Summer 2010
        • Issue 96, Spring 2010
        • Issue 95, Winter 2010
        • Issue 94, Fall 2009
        • Issue 93, Summer 2009
        • Issue 92, Spring 2009
        • Issue 91, Winter 2009
      • Back Issues 81-90 >
        • Issue 90, Fall 2008
        • Issue 89, Summer 2008
        • Issue 88, Spring 2008
        • Issue 87, Winter 2008
        • Issue 86, Fall 2007
        • Issue 85, Summer 2007
        • Issue 84, Spring 2007
        • Issue 83, Winter 2007
        • Issue 82, Fall 2006
        • Issue 81, Summer 2006
      • Back Issues 71-80 >
        • Issue 80, Spring 2006
        • Issue 79, Winter 2006
        • Issue 78, Fall 2005
        • Issue 77, Summer 2005
        • Issue 76, Spring 2005
        • Issue 75, Winter 2005
        • Issue 74, Fall 2004
        • Issue 73, Summer 2004
        • Issue 72, Spring 2004
        • Issue 71, Winter 2004
      • Back Issues 61-70 >
        • Issue 70, Fall 2003
        • Issue 69, Summer 2003
        • Issue 68, Spring 2003
        • Issue 67, Winter 2003
        • Issue 66, Fall 2002
        • Issue 65, Summer 2002
        • Issue 64, Spring 2002
        • Issue 63, Winter 2002
        • Issue 62, Fall 2001
        • Issue 61, Summer 2001
      • Back Issues 51-60 >
        • Issue 60, Spring 2001
        • Issue 59, Winter 2001
        • Issue 58, Fall 2000
        • Issue 57, Summer 2000
        • Issue 56, Spring 2000
        • Issue 55, Winter 2000
        • Issue 54, Fall 1999
        • Issue 53, Summer 1999
        • Issue 52, Spring 1999
        • Issue 51, Winter 1999
      • Back Issues 41-50 >
        • Issue 50, Fall 1998
        • Issue 49, Summer 1998
        • Issue 48, Spring 1998
        • Issue 47, Winter 1998
        • Issue 46, Fall 1997
        • Issue 45, Summer 1997
        • Issue 44, Spring 1997
        • Issue 43, Winter 1997
        • Issue 42, Fall 1996
        • Issue 41, Summer 1996
      • Back Issues 31-40 >
        • Issue 40, Spring 1996
        • Issue 39, Winter 1996
        • Issue 38, Fall 1995
        • Issue 37, Summer 1995
        • Issue 36, Spring 1995
        • Issue 35, Winter 1995
        • Issue 34, Fall 1994
        • Issue 33, Summer 1994
        • Issue 32, Spring 1994
        • Issue 31, Winter 1994
      • Back Issues 21-30 >
        • Issue 30, Fall 1993
        • Issue 29, Summer 1993
        • Issue 28, Spring 1993
        • Issue 27, Winter 1993
        • Issue 26, Fall 1992
        • Issue 25, Summer 1992
        • Issue 24, Spring 1992
        • Issue 23, Winter 1992
        • Issue 22, Fall 1991
        • Issue 21, Summer 1991
      • Back Issues 11-20 >
        • Issue 20, Spring 1991
        • Issue 19, Winter 1991
        • Issue 18, Fall 1990
        • Issue 17, Summer 1990
        • Issue 16, Spring 1990
        • Issue 15, Winter 1990
        • Issue 14, Fall 1989
        • Issue 13, Summer 1989
        • Issue 12, Spring 1989
        • Issue 11, Winter 1989
      • Back Issues 1-10 >
        • Issue 10, Fall 1988
        • Issue 9, Summer 1988
        • Issue 8, Spring 1988
        • Issue 7, Winter 1988
        • Issue 6, Fall 1987
        • Issue 5, Summer 1987
        • Issue 4, Spring 1987
        • Issue 3, Winter 1987
        • Issue 2, Fall 1986
        • Issue 1, Summer 1986
    • Digital Features
    • Links of Interest
    • Bonus Materials >
      • Adventures in Genealogy
      • Alabama Heritage Blog
      • Alabama Territory
      • Becoming Alabama >
        • Creek War Era
        • Civil War Era
        • Civil Rights Movement
      • From the Vault
      • History in Ruins
      • Places in Peril
      • Recipes
  • Online Store
    • Customer Service
  • About Us
    • Awards
    • Meet Our Team
    • News
    • Writer's Guidelines and Submissions
  • Search
  • Donate
Published by The University of Alabama,
The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and the Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Heritage, Issue 63, Winter 2002
Issue 63, Winter 2002
Buy This Issue
Start Your Subscription
Give a Gift Subscription
On the cover: William Frye's "Vue of the Huntsville Spring from Nature," c. 1845. (Courtesy Warren Rhett/Photograph by Robin McDonald)

FEATURE  ABSTRACTS


John Grimes: Alabama's First Portrait Artist

By Edward Patillo

Alabama was once the rough frontier of our nation, but to the citizens of early Huntsville, having a portrait painter in town added a touch of civilization to the wilderness. That painter, John Grimes, left behind a body of stunning work that provides an insightful glimpse at the earliest citizens of the state. In the Winter 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, Edward Patillo follows the life of Grimes, from his early days as a student of painter Matthew Harris Jouett, to his timely arrival in Alabama where he made a name for himself. Huntsville was then ambitious and new, and Grimes painted its leading citizens. In addition to biographical information, stunning photographs of Grimes' work accompany the article, including renderings of his earliest paintings and his later, more developed style. These beautiful portraits show the richness of the artist's talent and offer an enlightening look at the earliest upper class in Alabama.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Edward Troye 
  • Nicola Marschall 
Multimedia:
  • Edward Troye 
  • The Hale Child 

About the Author
Edward Patillo is a frequent contributor to Alabama Heritage. Most recently, he has written a piece on Paris porcelain in antebellum Alabama. An alumnus of the University of Alabama and Columbia University, Pattillo is currently an active appraiser of personal property and a consultant for the museums and the history program of the new Federal Judicial Building in Montgomery. 

The author wishes to thank Jack and Emily Burwell of Huntsville, who made available their transcriptions of "The Old Mahogany Table" articles by Virginia Clay; John Rison Jones, Huntsville; Mr. and Mrs. Ben Walker, Huntsville; Mrs. Dixon Barr, Lexington, Kentucky; the late William Barrow Floyd, Lexington, the biographer of Matthew Harris Jouett; the Tennessee Historical Society; and the owners of the paintings.
Back to Top

Daniel S. Troy, 1887Daniel S. Troy, 1887
(Troy Family)
Incident at Hatcher's Run

By Sam Duvall

In the final days of the Civil War, Colonel D. S. Troy, C.S.A., was attempting to reform his lines in a battle near Petersburg, Virginia, when he was shot by a Union private. Troy survived the wound-which he thought was fatal-and told a tale of surprising humanity in times of war. In the Winter 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, Sam Duvall tells how Colonel Troy was captured and transported to a field hospital, where he received compassionate care from his captors throughout his recovery. In the article, Duvall refers to the journals of the men who participated in the skirmish and paints a vivid description of the scene from both Union and Confederate perspectives. He also relates how the story of Colonel Troy is intertwined with that of George W. Thompkins, the Union private who nearly killed him. Most amazing is the story of how, in 1923, Colonel Troy's son was able to contact Thompkins, telling him that the Colonel had indeed survived the wound Thompkins inflicted-news which reportedly pleased the Union veteran very much.

Additional Information
The following items in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Alabama and the Civil War (feature) 
  • Civil War in Alabama 
  • Civil War Amputation Kit (image) 
  • Troy 

About the Author
Sam Duvall is the Communications Director for the Alabama Forestry Association, where he handles the publication of a quarterly full-color magazine and a monthly newsletter, plus other non-deadline publications for the association. His article on World War II pilot Ray Davis appeared in Alabama Heritage #59.

He would like to thank Bill Schaum, a Montgomery videographer and great-grandson of D. S. Troy, who provided him with a copy of Col. Troy's reminiscence, and Marie Troy from Montgomery, great-granddaughter of the Colonel, who read the article and provided valuable input. In addition, he wishes to thank Mr. John Troy of Muscle Shoals, the grandson of D. S. Troy, who has lovingly cared for the Colonel's sash and allowed it to be photographed for this article. Duvall would also like to thank Charles J. "Chuck" LaRocca of New York, who provided information on the Hatcher's Run Battle from a regimental history of the 124th New York Volunteers. LaRocca serves as a captain in the 124th New
York Volunteers reenactment unit.

Back to Top

Old Mobile Archaeology

By Gregory A. Waselkov

The year 2002 marks the three hundredth anniversary of the year Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville sailed up the Mobile River to a spot now known as Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff and established a settlement there named Mobile. In conjunction with the City of Mobile's Tricentennial Celebration, Alabama Heritage looks back at the founding of the city through its archaeology. In the Winter 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, Gregory A. Waselkov tells the story of the decision to establish a settlement up the Mobile River, and how the colony was later moved further south to Mobile Bay. Left behind at the Old Mobile site are tantalizingly brief clues about early colonial life in Alabama. Waselkov guides an archaeological tour through the remains of Old Mobile, providing a unique-and often unexpected-glimpse at the first Alabama colonists and their possessions. His article explains the process of digging up history and gives the most complete understanding of the state's elusive earliest settlement.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Bernard Romans 
  • Early European Exploration in Alabama 
  • Fort Toulouse 
  • Le Moyne Brothers 
  • Mobile 
Multimedia:
  • Fort Toulouse
  • Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Military Living History 
  • Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson State Historic Site 
  • Frontier Days 
  • Jean-Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville 
  • Map of Mobile Bay 
  • Spinning Wheel at Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson 

About the Author
Gregory A. Waselkov professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, has studied the Indians and the French of the colonial southeast for over two decades. To learn more about archaeology in the Mobile area, see Waselkov's booklet, Old Mobile Archaeology (University of
South Alabama, 1999), or visit the "Old Mobile Archaeology" website.
Back to Top

William Sheppard with the chief of the Ibanche peopleWilliam Sheppard with
the chief of the Ibanche people
(Presbyterian Historical Society,
Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.,
Montreat, NC)
Changing the Heart of Darkness: Sheppard and Lapsley in the Congo

By T.J. Beitelman

In 1890, the work of spreading religion to foreign lands was often perilous and risky at best. But for an unlikely duo of Southern Presbyterian missionaries-one the son of former slaves, the other kin to former slave owners-peril and risk spelled the chance of a lifetime. In the Winter 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, T. J. Beitelman tells the story of Samuel Lapsley, a white minister, and William Sheppard, a black minister, who were joined together by the Southern Presbyterian Church to spread Christianity through the African continent. Sheppard and Lapsley would soon discover that their differences had the strange quality of fitting together like cogs in a machine. One supplied what the other lacked. Through letters and journals written by the two men, Beitelman follows the missionaries throughout their African mission work, including Lapsley's bout with "bilious fever," which he eventually succumbed to, leaving Sheppard alone. Sheppard continued his work for many years, finally returning home in his old age to be welcomed with a measure of celebrity-and bringing with him a story of faith, friendship, and adventure.

Additional Information
  • Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Houghton Mifflin, 1998).
  • Jacobs, Sylvia, ed. Black Americans and the Missionary Movement in Africa (Greenwood Press, 1982).
  • Lapley, Samuel Norvell. Life and Letters of Samuel Norvell Lapsley, Missionary to the Congo Valley, West Africa, 1866-1892 (Whittet & Shepperson, 1893).
  • Sheppard, William Henry. Presbyterian Pioneers in Congo (Presbyterian Committee of Publications, 1916).
The following items in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Meridianville Cumberland Presbyterian Church (image)
  • Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) 

About the Author
T.J. Beitelman is associate editor of Alabama Heritage. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University  of Alabama and a Master of Arts degree in English literature from Virginia Tech. Prior to coming to  Alabama Heritage, he edited Black Warrior Review, a nationally acclaimed literary magazine published at the University of Alabama. He wishes to thank the Presbyterian Historical Society in Montreat, North Carolina, and
Robert Heath, Dean for Stillman College's Sheppard Library, for their invaluable assistance with this article.

Back to Top

DEPARTMENT  ABSTRACT


LiverleafA liverleaf in Jefferson County
(L.J. Davenport)
The Nature Album
Liverleaf (And the Doctrine of Signatures)

By L. J. Davenport

Compared to its more spectacular springtime colleagues, liverleaf (or hepatica) appears none too special--jut a few white, pink, or lavender blooms popping up through mottled, coppery leaves left over from the previous years. But those leaves possess "powers" unparalleled in the botanical world. L.J. Davenport examines the history and nature of this remarkable plant.

About the Author
Larry Davenport is a professor of biology at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama.

Back to Top
Online Store
​Customer Service
Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
Corporate Sponsors
News
Join Our Email List

Employment
UA Disclaimer
UA Privacy Policy ​
​Website comments or questions?  

Email ah.online@ua.edu
Published by The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History
​Alabama Heritage
Box 870342
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Local: (205) 348-7467
Toll-Free: (877) 925-2323
Fax: (205) 348-7473

alabama.heritage@ua.edu