Proud Warriors: African American Combat Units in World War II

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During World War II, tens of thousands of African Americans served in segregated combat units in U.S. armed forces. The majority of these units were found in the U.S. Army, and African Americans served in every one of the combat arms. They found opportunities for leadership unparalleled in the rest of American society at the time. Several reached the field grade officer ranks, and one officer reached the rank of brigadier general. Beyond the Army, the Marine Corps refused to enlist African Americans until ordered to do so by the president in June 1942, and two African American combat units were formed and did see service during the war. While the U.S. Navy initially resisted extending the role of African American sailors beyond kitchens, eventually the crew of two ships was composed exclusively of African Americans. The Coast Guard became the first service to integrate—initially with two shipboard experiments and then with the integration of most of their fleet. Finally, the famous Tuskegee airmen are covered in the chapter on air warfare. Proud Warriors makes the case that the wartime experiences of combat units such as the Tank Battalions and the Tuskegee Airmen ultimately convinced President Truman to desegregate the …
Date: October 2021
Creator: Bielakowski, Alexander M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bibliography of State Participation in the Civil War 1861-1866 (open access)

Bibliography of State Participation in the Civil War 1861-1866

Book containing bibliographies for literature related to the involvement of states in the American Civil War, arranged by state and topic. It includes an appendix containing miscellaneous organizations beginning on page 929.
Date: 1913
Creator: United States. War Department. Library.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gettysburg National Military Commission Annual Reports to the Secretary of War: 1893-1901 (open access)

Gettysburg National Military Commission Annual Reports to the Secretary of War: 1893-1901

Annual report containing photographs and information regarding the Gettysburg National Military Park, including maintenance, erection of monuments, and site preservation.
Date: 1902
Creator: Gettysburg National Military Park Commission
System: The UNT Digital Library

Ordered West: The Civil War Exploits of Charles A. Curtis

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Accounts of Charles Curtis, who served in the 5th United States Infantry on the New Mexico and Arizona frontier. This is edited version version of serial installments (originally published in newspapers from 1877-1880) with the addition of biographical information and some historical context, as well as some reorganization to read chronologically and some normalization of language and spelling. Index starts on page 561.
Date: June 2017
Creator: Gaff, Alan D. & Gaff, Donald H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal Issued by the War Department Since April 6, 1917 Up to and including General Orders, Number 126, War Department, November 11, 1919 (open access)

Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal Issued by the War Department Since April 6, 1917 Up to and including General Orders, Number 126, War Department, November 11, 1919

Book containing the names and deeds of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal awarded for actions during World War I. It includes information such as whether the award was posthumous, the person's rank, and their company (if applicable).
Date: 1920
Creator: United States. Adjutant-General's Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Yesterday There Was Glory: With the 4th Division, A.E.F., in World War I

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Memoir describing historical events and personal accounts of Gerald Andrew Howell based on his experiences during World War I, originally completed in 1946 : "His narrative was a study of a small group of American soldiers attempting to survive some of the most ferocious combat of the 'Great War.' He included information on the movements and activities of his 39th Infatry Regiment and the 4th Division, but Howell kept the focus of the story on his squad, a typical cross section of the A.E.F. {American Expeditionary Forces]" (p. 2) This edited version has some introductory and supplementary information and has made minor corrections to the original text. Index starts on page 338.
Date: September 2017
Creator: Howell, Gerald Andrew & Patrick, Jeffrey L.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Ranger Ideal Volume 3: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1898–1987

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Established in Waco in 1968, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum honors the iconic Texas Rangers, a service that has existed, in one form or another, since 1823. Thirty-one individuals—whose lives span more than two centuries—have been enshrined in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. They have become legendary symbols of Texas and the American West. In The Ranger Ideal Volume 3, Darren L. Ivey presents capsule biographies of the twelve inductees who served Texas in the twentieth century. In the first portion of the book, Ivey describes the careers of the “Big Four” Ranger captains—Will L. Wright, Frank Hamer, Tom R. Hickman, and Manuel “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas—as well as those of Charles E. Miller and Marvin “Red” Burton. Ivey then moves into the mid-century and discusses Robert A. Crowder, John J. Klevenhagen, Clinton T. Peoples, and James E. Riddles. Ivey concludes with Bobby Paul Doherty and Stanley K. Guffey, both of whom gave their lives in the line of duty. Using primary records and reliable secondary sources, and rejecting apocryphal tales, The Ranger Ideal presents the true stories of these intrepid men who enforced the law with gallantry, grit, and guns. This Volume 3 is the finale …
Date: July 2021
Creator: Ivey, Darren L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary (open access)

The War with Germany: A Statistical Summary

Book containing statistical figures regarding the United States of America's conflict with Germany during World War I, including statistics for casualties, expenditures, and ordnance. Index starts on page 151.
Date: 1919
Creator: Ayres, Leonard Porter, 1879-1946
System: The UNT Digital Library
From Wright Field, Ohio, to Hokkaido, Japan: General Curtis E. LeMay's Letters to His Wife Helen, 1941–1945 (open access)

From Wright Field, Ohio, to Hokkaido, Japan: General Curtis E. LeMay's Letters to His Wife Helen, 1941–1945

In 1942, Colonel Curtis E. LeMay and his 305th Bomb Group left Syracuse, New York, bound for England, where they joined the Eighth Air Force and Royal Air Force in war against Germany and her allies. Over the next three years LeMay led American air forces in Europe, India, China, and the Pacific against the Axis powers. His efforts yielded advancement through the chain of command to the rank of Major General in command of the XXIst Bomber Command, the most effective strategic bombing force of the war. LeMay’s activities in World War II are well-documented, but his personal history is less thoroughly recorded. Throughout the war he wrote hundreds of letters to his wife, Helen, and daughter, Jane. They are published for the first time in this volume, weaved together with meticulously researched narrative essays buttressed by both official and unofficial sources and supplemented with extensive footnotes. History remembers “LeMay, the Commander” well. From Wright Field, Ohio, to Hokkaido, Japan, will yield a better understanding of “LeMay, the Man.”
Date: 2015
Creator: Hegi, Benjamin Paul & Hurley, Alfred F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Growing up in Texas (open access)

Growing up in Texas

Memoir written by Annie Margaret Rankin Warner and Virginia "Jenny" Louise Rankin Marshall of stories on growing up in West Texas from 1866-1995.
Date: 2016
Creator: Rankin Warner, Annie Margaret & Marshall, Virginia R.
System: The Portal to Texas History

John B. Denton: the Bigger-than Life Story of the Fighting Parson and Texas Ranger

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Denton County and the City of Denton are named for pioneer preacher, lawyer, and Indian fighter John B. Denton, but little has been known about him. He was an orphan in frontier Arkansas who became a circuit-riding Methodist preacher and an important member of a movement of early settlers bringing civilization to North Texas. After becoming a ranger on the frontier, he ultimately was killed in the Tarrant Expedition, a Texas Ranger raid on a series of villages inhabited by various Caddoan and other tribes near Village Creek on May 24, 1841. Denton’s true story has been lost or obscured by the persistent mythologizing by publicists for Texas, especially by pulp western writer Alfred W. Arrington. Cochran separates the truth from the myth in this meticulous biography, which also contains a detailed discussion of the controversy surrounding the burial of John B. Denton and offers some alternative scenarios for what happened to his body after his death on the frontier.
Date: October 2021
Creator: Cochran, Mike
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain. Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting a Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain, Signed at the City of Paris, on December 10, 1898. (open access)

A Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain. Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting a Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain, Signed at the City of Paris, on December 10, 1898.

Book containing the text of the Treaty of Paris (1898) and accompanying papers, including statements from government officials, protocols from the conferences in Paris, France, and reports on colonies, protectorates, and states acquired by the United States via the treaty.
Date: 1899
Creator: United States. Senate.
System: The UNT Digital Library
State Papers and Correspondence Bearing Upon the Purchase of the Territory of Louisiana. (open access)

State Papers and Correspondence Bearing Upon the Purchase of the Territory of Louisiana.

Book containing journal entries, notes, and correspondence among state officials regarding the Louisiana Purchase. Index starts on page 293.
Date: 1903
Creator: United States. Department of State.
System: The UNT Digital Library