Issue 96, Spring 2010

Title and Date: The cover features the title “ALABAMA HERITAGE” in bold letters, along with the issue number and date: “ISSUE NUMBER 96, SPRING 2010.” Visual Elements: The image depicts an individual standing in front of a historical building with columns. The sky has dramatic clouds, suggesting either sunrise or sunset. Publisher Information: At the bottom, it states that the magazine is published by “THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA,” “THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM,” and “THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.”

Issue 96, Spring 2010

On the cover: The Leninger Place, 1936, by Sidney Dickinson. [Greenville County Museum of Art]

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Features

Tattered Banners: Alabama’s Civil War Flags

By Robert Bradley

The Civil War era saw a proliferation of flags in Alabama. The Confederacy used several different flag styles through the course of the war, and individual military units represented themselves with unique banners. Records of them can be frustratingly elusive and, when located, prone to error. Tracing flags and their respective histories remains an important task, because they teach us about the customs, motivations, and practices of Alabama on the brink of and during wartime. Robert Bradley, chief curator for the Alabama Department of Archives and History, shares the stories of some notable flags from the ADAH collection and offers a glimpse of the historical events those banners witnessed.

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The image depicts an aged, tattered flag with a design featuring a large white cross on a dark background, dividing the flag into four quadrants. The top left quadrant contains text that appears to read “WATEKS BATT[LE]” and “IMCRIT A/A”. The top right quadrant displays the date “OCT 15 '61”. The bottom right quadrant reads “MURFREESBORO”. The flag shows visible signs of wear and damage, including holes and frayed edges. It seems to be a historical artifact, possibly from the American Civil War era, indicated by the date and style of the flag.
Flag believed to have been issued to Waters’ Battery of Mobile in 1863. [Alabama Department of Archives and History]
The painting features two figures—an adult and a child—standing against a dark background. The adult wears a checkered shirt and holds something on the left side, while the child extends an arm toward the right. The composition and use of color create a dramatic and somewhat unsettling atmosphere.
“Holiday” Sidney Dickinson self-portrait.
[Greenville County Museum of Art]

Sidney Dickinson in Alabama: The Changing South on Canvas

By Martha R. Severens

Painter Sidney Dickinson repeatedly travelled to Alabama from his northern home, following his humanitarian family, who worked at the Calhoun Colored School near Montgomery. Dickinson’s time in Alabama proved artistically fruitful, and the many paintings he created while in the state helped cement his reputation as an artist. Martha Severens offers an intricate look at Dickinson and his exquisite Alabama paintings, which have been exhibited in such sites as the National Academy of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His works present a community in transition, and they offer sensitive depictions of the dying agricultural lifestyle and the complexity of race relations in the early decades of the twentieth century.

The image you uploaded depicts a classical portrait of an individual from the 18th century. The subject is elegantly dressed in a brown coat adorned with gold buttons and embroidery on the cuffs. A white cravat and a powdered wig complete the ensemble. The background is dark, providing contrast to the lighter colors of the clothing and hair.
John Sevier. First governor of Tennessee. [Tennessee State Museum]

Prince Madoc and the Stubborn Persistence of a Legend

By John C. Hall

Sometimes the most entertaining stories of the past are more fabrication than truth. But what happens when these mythical tales become confused with history? John Hall investigates this phenomenon as revealed in the legend of the Welsh prince Madoc, who supposedly sailed to America centuries before Columbus and discovered Alabama. No reliable historical or archaeological evidence has supported Madoc’s presence in Alabama or even his existence, for that matter. But textbooks embellished the fiction, tours pointed out the legendary landing site, and a historical marker made it official. Madoc became “history”—and a cautionary tale. 

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Bounding Alabama

By Robert D. Temple

Today, we largely accept the state lines as a commonplace thing, something that’s beyond negotiation. At one time, however, the exact limits of Alabama were anything but certain, and they remained hotly contested. Robert Temple charts the history of Alabama’s borders, offering an informative and colorful glimpse of the state’s geographical limits—limits that have at times been mistakenly charted, revised, and even instrumental in determining the amount of water coursing through the state’s waterways. Bounding Alabama, it turns out, was neither simple nor straightforward; rather, it was a formidable task undertaken by a series of people devoting much time and energy—and quite a bit of discussion—to the effort. 

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The image depicts an aged gravestone with inscriptions. The stone appears weathered and broken, with a large crack running through it. The partially eroded text reads “DOMINI,” “DES.M.CA,” “LOSIN,” “IAT:3I,” and the year “1799” at the bottom. This gravestone likely marks a burial site from the late 18th century, which could be of historical interest.
The Ellicott Stone marks the boundary between the United States and Spanish West Florida. [Alabama Department of Archives and History]

Departments

The image depicts an old house being transported on the back of a large flatbed truck. The house appears to be in disrepair, with exposed structural elements. Two individuals are visible—one standing on the porch of the house, and another observing the situation beside the truck. The scene is set against a rural backdrop with a wooden fence and trees. This moment captures the relocation of a large structure, which could be significant in discussions about housing, architecture, or historical transportation methods.
The Graves house arrives at Fort Tolouse National Historic Park. [Larry Gregory]

Southern Architecture and Preservation

Extreme Makeover: Fort Toulouse’s Graves House

By Robert Gamble

When industrial development threatened the property known as “the Old Robinson place,” researchers soon discovered the building had a rich history dating back to the 1830s. Thanks to cooperation between General Electric and the Alabama Historical Commission, the house, now known as the Graves House, was moved to Fort Toulouse Park near Wetumpka, where it stands today. Robert Gamble traces the historic journey of this home, which dates from the early years of Alabama’s statehood, and its current role as an educational historic site. 

Becoming Alabama

Quarter by Quarter

The image depicts a group of individuals sitting and kneeling on steps in front of a brick wall.
John Lewis (second from left) leads protesters in prayer.
[Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos]

By Joseph W. Pearson, Megan L. Bever, and Matthew Downs

Joseph Pearson explores the government’s delicate but essential negotiations to build a Federal Road on Creek land to facilitate trade and military troop movements. Megan Bever looks at the walkout of southern delegates to the Democratic National Convention in 1860, when the group declined a platform to defend slavery rights in new U.S. territories. Finally, Matthew Downs examines the aftermath of student protests in Montgomery and the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

The image depicts a two-story building with a white facade and red roof, surrounded by trees. The sky appears overcast. In the foreground, there’s an open grassy area with a figure in white clothing. To the right of the building, another structure is partially visible. The painting has an aged look, suggesting it may be quite old or intentionally weathered.
Hardin Perkins House, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Painting attributed to Mary C. Barry, 1857. [Robert Mellown]

Art in the South

Where Katie Was Born: Adventures in Provenance

By Robert C. Mellown, with James. K. McNutt

Nearly two decades ago, Robert Mellown received a phone call from a woman interested in learning more about two paintings she owned. Bearing only the words “The house where Katie L. Barry was born, Tuscaloosa, Alabama,” the paintings and their creator were otherwise a mystery. After extensive research in city history, building records, and historical documents, Robert Mellown and James McNutt have shed light this artistic mystery, successfully identifying the site and—most probably—the artist. More importantly, the painting restores for us the original image of an important house now completely altered, a magnificent garden long gone, and a moment in time when a girl named Katie Barry was born.

The image you uploaded depicts the cover of a book titled “Deerskins & Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1815,” authored by Kathryn E. Holland Braund. The cover features an illustration of a Native American individual wearing a blue jacket with red trim, holding what appears to be a duffel or bag. The left side of the cover has text overlaid on what seems to be an old map or document with cursive handwriting. This image is relevant as it represents the subject matter of the book, which is likely about the historical trade relationships between Creek Indians and Anglo-American societies.
The image depicts the cover of a book titled “A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733–1816” by Claudio Saunt. The cover features an illustration of a person wearing 18th-century attire, with their face obscured by a gray rectangle. The person also wears a necklace with multiple strands. This historical context may be of interest to those studying the Creek Indians during that period.
The image you uploaded appears to be the cover of a book titled “Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America” by Joshua Piker. The cover features an illustration of a Native American town with several figures and structures depicted in an orange hue, suggesting historical or cultural significance.

Reading the Southern Past

Creek Indians throughout History

By Stephen Goldfarb

This quarter’s book review column focuses on the Creek Indians and highlights several texts for general readership. Kathryn E. Holland Braund’s Deerskins & Duffels: The Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685–1815, second edition (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) offers a valuable introduction to the Creeks in the greater eighteenth century. A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733–1816 (Cambridge University Press, 1999) by Claudio Saunt explores the traditions of the Creek community and the revisions to those traditions that arose as a result of modernity and contact with American lifestyles.

A similar project undergirds Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America (Harvard University Press, 2004) by Joshua Piker, which investigates life in a prominent Creek town. Finally, a more recent text by Saunt, Black, White, and Indian: Race and the Unmaking of an American Family (Oxford University Press, 2005), traces a single Creek family and its struggles up to the present. Taken together, these books reveal a comprehensive, fascinating, and often disturbing picture of Creek life in America.  

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