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Wade Hall Collection of Military Materials

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-4256

Scope and Contents

The Wade Hall Collection of Military Materials contains letters, photographs, documents, and other personal items related to American soldiers stationed on military bases and ships in the United States and around the world. The collection includes items related to the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and peacetime military activities, such as a 1926 Thanksgiving dinner menu from a Naval training station in Viriginia. There is also a file with seventeen photographs of soldiers and sailors in various types of uniforms.

Dates

  • 1783-1970

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to portions of this collection has been restricted by Archives and Special Collections in order to preserve the original materials. Contact University Libraries Special Collections at archives@ua.edu or 205.348.0500 for information on access to the restricted portions of this collection.

The majority of the collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations.Due to thenature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are responsible for using the materials in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright claimants in collection materials. Copyright for official University records is held by The University of Alabama. The library claims only physical ownership of many manuscript collections. Anyone wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of literary property rights or copyrights. Please contact Special Collections (archives@ua.edu) with questions regarding specific manuscript collections.For more information about copyright policy, please visit: https://www.ua.edu/copyright/. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal implications, for which the University of Alabama assumes no responsibility.

Biographical / Historical

A Union Springs, Alabama, native, Wade Henry Hall was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He continued his education by earning a B.S. from Troy University, a M.A. from the University of Alabama, and a Ph.D from the University of Illinois. He went on to become a distinguished college professor and one of Alabama’s most widely published and versatile authors. He wrote numerous works relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history, including The Kentucky Anthology: 200 Years of Writing in the Bluegrass State, One Man’s Lincoln, and Conecuh People: Words of Life from the Alabama Black Belt. Hall taught English and served as chair of the English and Humanities programs at Kentucky Southern College (1962-1969) and Bellarmine University (1969-1996) in Louisville, Kentucky, for almost forty years. He retired in 1996 and returned to Union Springs, Alabama, in 2006.

Hall was an avid collector, focusing primarily on items related to Southern history and culture. His interests were wide-ranging and included books, music, manuscripts, photographs, and quilts. He donated significant portions of his collections to the universities of Alabama, Troy, and Kentucky as well as to art museums in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia. The manuscripts collection here gathers together letters, journals, and other papers from the middle of the nineteenth through the whole of the twentieth century and allows researchers to see the world through the lives of everyday Americans, demonstrating the value of ordinary people’s perspectives to researchers interested in American history, literature, and culture. Hall died on September 26, 2015, aged 81, after a long illness.

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet

Overview

The Wade Hall Collection of Military Materials contains correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to American soldiers stationed on military bases and ships in the United States and around the world.

Arrangement

This collection is made up of nineteen individual collections previously donated by Wade Hall that have been combined to create the Wade Hall Collection of Military Materials. These smaller collections were originally processed by Special Collections staff between 2005-2013. Files are arranged in chronological order, with undated materials at the end of the folder list.

Physical Location

These materials are stored at our off-site Archival Facility (AF) and may require up to two business days for retrieval and delivery for use in our Hoole Library reading room. Please email archives@ua.eduor call 205-348-0500 for more information.

Custodial History

Donor Wade Hall acquired the materials in this collection from a variety of sources, including estate sales and private individuals.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Wade Hall, 2004-2010.

Related Materials

See: MSS.4115, Charles M. Dragoo Letters; MSS.1993, Russell F. Trask Letters; MSS.4253, Wade Hall Collection of World War II Materials; MSS.4251, Wade Hall Collection of World War I Materials, MSS.2485, Jack S. Butler Papers; and MSS.4096, Robert Smith Papers, The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Mark Usry, April 2019; additions processed by Erin Ryan, June 2020.

Source

Title
Guide to the Wade Hall Collection of Military Materials
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid created by Mark Usry, April 2019; revised and updated by Erin Ryan, June 2020.
Date
April 2019; June 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
205.348.0513