The task of providing military defense for the Texas Frontier was never an easy one because the territory was claimed by some of the greatest querrilla fighters of all times—the Comanches, Kiowas, Apaches, and Lipans. Protecting a line running from the Red River southwest to El Paso was an impossible task, but following the Mexican War the federal government attempted to do so by establishing a line of forts. During the Civil War the forts were virtually abandoned and the Indians once again ruled the area. Following the war when the military began to restore the old forts, they found that the Indians no longer fought with bows and arrows but shouldered the latest firearms. With their new weapons the Indians were able to inflict tremendous destruction, bringing demands from settlers for more protection. In the summer of 1866 a new line of forts appeared through central Texas under the leadership of General Philip H. Sheridan, commander of federal forces in Louisiana and Texas. Guardians of a raw young land and focal points of high adventure, the old forts were indispensable in their day of service and it is fitting that they be preserved. In and around the forts and …

The purpose of this study is "to identify significant issues affecting water quality" within the Trinity River watershed, located in the eastern half of Texas, "and to provide sufficient information for the Commission, river authorities, and other local government bodies to take appropriate corrective action necessary to maintain and improve the quality of [the] state's water resources" (p. [1]).

Journal kept by Hugh Callaway from October 12th, 1991 to March 12th, 1993. Some of the entries discuss the murder of his significant other.

Interview with Richard A. Crane about his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. He discusses his childhood in Mesquite, Texas; joining the CCC; assignment to Company 819 at Camp NP-2-A in Grand, Canyon, Arizona; description of camp; life in camp.

Interview with David Eargle concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Eargle worked at camps in Waynesville, North Carolina (Company 443); Greer, South Carolina (Company 443); Switzer, South Carolina; Laurens, South Carolina; and Roseburg, Oregon (Company 3450). Appendix includes photocopy of Mr. Eargle's CCC discharge papers [2 p.]

Document describes the origins and history of the Soil Survey with an emphasis on the time periods of 1899-1912, 1912-1920, 1920-1933, and 1933-1952. "For each of the four chronological periods, a brief introductory chapter describes the general political and administrative environment then prevailing, and a summary of the progress of the Soil Survey achieved under such an environment." (p. 36) Also provides information on early soil sampling, typing, mapping, and interpretation. Also tells about the coordination of the National Cooperative Soil Survey and developments in the National Cooperative Soil Survey from 1952-1957.

Interview with E. B. "Ned" Potter, Navy WWII veteran from Norfolk, Virginia, who served in the intelligence section of the 14th Naval District. Potter discusses his education, teaching, commissioning into the Navy and training in communications, assignment to Oahu, codes and ciphers, interception, President Roosevelt's visit, WAVES, and leaving active duty at the end of the war and becoming a history professor. In appendix is a letter from Potter to Marcello with revisions to the interview.

The Congressional Record contains the records for sessions of the U.S. Congress including summaries of proceedings, letters, and speeches for the Senate and House of Representatives.

Interview with Marine Corps veteran Carl Gorman. The interview includes Gorman's personal experiences as a Navajo code talker with the 2nd Marines on Guadacanal, Tarawa, and Saipan.

Interview with business executive and Army Air Forces veteran Robert H. Flatley. The interview includes Flatley's personal experiences about being a P-38 pilot in the Pacific Theater during the World War II, basic training, flight training, P-38 training, various assignments and missions, and the destruction of forty-seven locomotives. Flatley also talks about various missions to targets in the Philippines, activities between combat missions, postwar military activities in the Philippines, and postwar adjustments to civilian life.

Interview with Lanson B. Ditto, clothier and Navy veteran regarding personal experiences about the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean Theaters during World War II. Ditto talks about his education, enlistment in the Navy V-7 Program, midshipman training, assignment to the USS Langley, pre-war duty in the Philippines, coming of war and combat around the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies, the sinking of the Langley and his transfer to the USS Pecos, the sinking of the Pecos and his rescue by the USS Whipple, various naval battles and assignments, antisubmarine patrols off the Solomons, various escort duties, and his promotion to captain of the O'Toole.

Interview with David Braden, an Army Air Force WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Braden served as a navigator/radar-bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress in the Pacific; he recounts being in ROTC at North Texas Agricultural College and signing up for the Air Corps Reserves, flight training, the B-29, his crewmates, assignment to Saipan, organization of a bombing mission, the jetstream, flak and fighters, being shot down, switching crews, targets, briefings, recreation, Japanese holdouts on Saipan, fighter escorts, returning stateside, and leaving the service. In appendix is a letter sent to Dr. Marcello by Braden containing some corrections for the interview.

Interview with Navy veteran Jean Balch, including Balch's personal experiences about the Pacific theater, being a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II, boot camp, radio, radar, and gunnery school, operations during the Leyte invasion, missions over Luzon, and raids on Japanese installations on Formosa and Saigon, French Indo-China. Additionally, Balch talks about his plane being shot down on a raid to Hong Kong and his capture on January 16, 1945, interrogations and beatings by the Kempei-tai, imprisonment at Ofuna, Honshu, solitary confinement for six months and continued interrogation, beatings by Japanese prison guards, starvation diet, the end of the war and liberation, and his participation in the war crimes trials held by the International Military Tribunal.

Text describes the area, climate, agricultural history and statistics, soil-survey methods and definitions, soils and crops, land uses and agricultural methods, irrigation, and morphology and genesis of soils of La Salle County, Texas.

Collection of poems and stories that "gives voice to the experiences of sexual assault survivors and the counselors with whom they work." (intro)

Interview with Major N. Jesse James concerning his experiences before, during, and after his employment in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. James worked at a camp in Pineville, Kentucky (Company 548).

Transcript of an interview with Dr. Walter Henry concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Henry worked at a camp in Pine Valley, California (Company 901).

Transcript of an interview with John Rich, journalist and Marine Corps veteran (4th Marine Division), concerning his experiences as a Japanese language interpreter/interrogator in the Pacific Theater during World War II and his observations as a journalist while covering the proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Rich discusses his pre-war career in journalism; U.S. Navy Japanese Language School, University of Colorado, 1942-43; assignment to the 4th Marine Division, 1943; Roi-Namur and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, 1944; interrogation of Japanese prisoners-of-war; Saipan and Tinian, Mariana Islands, 1944; Iwo Jima, 1945; coverage of the Tokyo war crimes trials for International News Service, 1946; reminiscences about covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's meeting with the press after the Atlantic Conference with Winston Churchill off Argentia, Newfoundland, August 10-15, 1941.

Interview with Pola Bekker, a Holocaust survivor from Warsaw. Bekker discusses her family, the Jewish District in Warsaw, life in the city before the war, antisemitism in Warsaw, the invasion of Poland and bombing of the city, fleeing to Russia, life in Orsk, moving to Voroshilovgrad, returning to Poland at the end of the war, and moving to Israel.

Interview with Martin L. Allday, an Army WWII veteran from Austin, Texas. Allday discusses his experiences at the Battle of Okinawa, including being drafted and basic training, transiting the Pacific, assignment to the 96th Infantry Division and arrival on Okinawa, events of the fighting on the Shuri Line at Zebra Hill, being wounded, evacuation and recovery, returning to Okinawa, clean-up operations, souvenirs, and adjustment to civilian life. An appendix includes a letter typed by Allday for a panel discussion of the battle, a map of the battle from "The Second World War: a Complete History" by Martin Gilbert, a veteran's questionnaire from the Admiral Nimitz Museum he filled out, and a one-page biography.

Translation and summaries of materials from the Laredo Archives, held by St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas; the documents contain information related to the history of Laredo, including religion, political life, ordinances and laws, education, military life, and land questions.

The Congressional Record contains the records for sessions of the U.S. Congress including summaries of proceedings, letters, and speeches for the Senate and House of Representatives.

Interview with Cmdr. Alex Vraciu, a Navy WWII veteran and Navy Cross recipient from East Chicago, Indiana. Vraciu discusses his family and educational background, naval flight training, Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the F6F Hellcat, various combat operations throughout the Pacific, his actions at the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," being awarded the Navy Cross and time stateside, and returning to combat. In appendix is an autobiographical sketch by Vraciu, including a picture of him and his Hellcat with visible victory markings on the fuselage.

Interview with Olen Bates about his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Bates discusses his childhood in Oklahoma, joining the CCC, assignment to a camp in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and describes his life in the camp.