Confederate Soldiers, Circa 1905
Civil War soldiers
Confederate soldiers
On the front right, holding flag, is Montgomery Inge Burton. He was a member of the Home Guard that defended the covered bridge across the Black Warrior River that connected Northport and Tuscaloosa on April 3, 1865 against Brigadier General John T. Croxton's 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment.
Burton was 16 years of age and with a dozen other old men and young boys removed 30 feet of the bridge's flooring in a delaying action. Retreating, they fired single-shot weapons inflicting 23 Union casualties.
The next day Croxton's raiders burned most of the University of Alabama and much of Tuscaloosa.
Later in life he was the Editor-Publisher of The Tuskaloosa Gazette. He built the mercantile building on 6th Street that is now occupied by Five restaurant and Lampadas.
Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society
Circa 1905
Betty Slowe (Description)
Photograph
2318
Tuscaloosa County (AL)
Warrior Guards, 1924
Guards troops
Wars
Soldiers
Warrior Guards served in all major wars, starting with the confederacy. Pictured are the 1924 Warrior Guards: Hal McCall, William A. Collier, Jr., Jimmy Johnson, Lt. Robert Dugin, Sr., Capt. Dick Lollar, Lt. Tandy Barrett, Thomas Maxwell, Jack Clarkson, Billy Partlow, Fred Craft, Harry Schmitz, G. Little, Jim Free, Jack McGuire, Jessie Maxwell, Buster Bell, Ed Malone, Alvin Davidson, Charlie Beauchamp, Bimp Powell, Henry Snow, Dickie Rosenfeld, Jeff Buck, Burk Johnson, Dwight Deal, Leonard Pool, Troy Wall, Olmsted Copeland, Dutch Hartman, Pal Cochrane, Mike Pickens, Hilmon Holley.
Tuscaloosa News Archive
1924
Jennifer Spraggins (Description)
Photograph
222
Tuscaloosa (AL)
USS Tuscaloosa, 1939
Battleships
Navy (Ship)
This CA-37 was the first of two ships named for Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
<p>The USS <em>Tuscaloosa</em> (CA-37), a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, was laid down on September 3, 1931 at Camden, N.J.<span></span>, by the New York Shipbuilding Company<span></span>, launched on November 15, 1933, sponsored by Mrs. Jeanette McCann, the wife of Lieutenant<span></span> Thomas L. McCann and the niece of William Bacon Oliver<span></span>, the Representative of Alabama's 6th congressional district<span></span>. She was commissioned on August 17, 1934, and carried a complement of 103 officers and 763 enlisted men.</p>
<p>Her armament included nine 8-inch 55 caliber guns, eight 5-inch 25 caliber anti-aircraft guns, two 47 mm saluting guns and eight 13 mm machine guns. By 1945 the machine guns had been replaced with six quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors<span></span> anti-aircraft guns and twenty-eight single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon<span></span> anti-aircraft cannons.</p>
<p>In December 1939 in the Atlantic, the <em>Tuscaloosa</em> rescued 576 crew of the North German Lloyd liner <em>Columbus</em>, the 13<sup>th</sup> largest steamship in the world, when it was captured by the British ship HMS <em>Hyperion</em>. The captain of the <em>Columbus</em> scuttled his ship and all but 2 of his crew went over the side into lifeboats. The <em>Hyperion</em> had no room for the Germans and the <em>Tuscaloosa</em> took the survivors to New York, disembarking them at Ellis Island.</p>
<p>The <em>Tuscaloosa</em> was honored to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on three different occasions: August 1939, February 1940 and December 1940. Roosevelt fished and entertained British colonial officials—including the Duke<span></span> and Duchess<span></span> of Windsor—on board the cruiser.</p>
<p>In November 1942, <em>Tuscaloosa</em> took part in “Operation Torch” off the coast of French Morocco at Casablanca. She, along with the heavy cruiser <em>Wichita</em>, the battleship <em>Massachusetts</em>, the aircraft carrier <em>Ranger</em> and numerous other ships, shelled defensive positions as American troops waded ashore.</p>
<p>On 3 June 1944, <em>Tuscaloosa</em> steamed in company with the rest of Task Force 125 (TF 125) bound for the Normandy<span></span> beaches. On June 6, she opened fire on Fort Ile de Tatihou, Baie de lan Seine. For the remainder of D-Day, coast defense batteries, artillery positions, troop concentrations, and motor transport all came under the fire of <em>Tuscaloosa<span>'</span>s</em> guns, which were aided by her air spotters and by fire control parties attached to Army units on shore. Initial enemy return fire was inaccurate, but it improved enough by the middle of the day to force the cruiser to take evasive action.</p>
<p>In September, when Allied forces had secured footholds in both western and southern France, <em>Tuscaloosa</em> returned to the United States for refitting at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. After a short exercise period, she steamed via the Panama Canal to the west coast and reported to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. After stopping briefly at San Diego, she proceeded on westward to Pearl Harbor, where she conducted various exercises before steaming to Ulithi to join Commander, 3rd Fleet in January 1945.</p>
<p>She joined the bombardment group off Iwo Jima at dawn on February 16. Three days later, as waves of landing craft bore marines shoreward to invade the island, <em>Tuscaloosa's</em> guns pounded Japanese positions inland. Then, after the Americans had reached land, her batteries supported their advances with incessant fire and illumination. This continued from February 19 to March 14, throughout all phases of the bitterly fought campaign to wrest the island from the Japanese.</p>
<p><em>Tuscaloosa</em> was also part of Task Force 54 in March 1945 participating in the operation at Okinawa. Her gunners shot down two kamikaze planes during this battle. She also reported to the 7<sup>th</sup> Fleet for duty in Leyte Gulf in June 1945. </p>
<p><em>Tuscaloosa</em> received seven battle stars for her World War II service. Never damaged in battle, she led a charmed life compared to her six sister ships, three of which were sunk and the other three heavily damaged. USS Tuscaloosa was decommissioned in Philadelphia on February 13, 1946 and scrapped in 1959.<br /><br />Her mast is the centerpiece of the Tuscaloosa Veterans Memorial Park, which also features one of her five-inch guns.</p>
<p>Source: Wikipedia where you can read more about the USS <em>Tuscaloosa</em></p>
Becky Compton
December 1939
Becky Compton (Description)
Photograph
2422
Tuscaloosa (AL)
USS Tuscaloosa, 1942
Battleships
Navy (Ship)
<p>This CA-37 was the first of two ships named for Tuscaloosa, Alabama.</p>
<p>The USS<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>(CA-37), a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser, was laid down on September 3, 1931 at Camden, N.J.<span></span>, by the New York Shipbuilding Company<span></span>, launched on November 15, 1933, sponsored by Mrs. Jeanette McCann, the wife of Lieutenant<span></span><span> </span>Thomas L. McCann and the niece of William Bacon Oliver<span></span>, the Representative of Alabama's 6th congressional district<span></span>. She was commissioned on August 17, 1934, and carried a complement of 103 officers and 763 enlisted men.</p>
<p>Her armament included nine 8-inch 55 caliber guns, eight 5-inch 25 caliber anti-aircraft guns, two 47 mm saluting guns and eight 13 mm machine guns. By 1945 the machine guns had been replaced with six quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors<span></span><span> </span>anti-aircraft guns and twenty-eight single 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon<span></span> anti-aircraft cannons.</p>
<p>In December 1939 in the Atlantic, the<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>rescued 576 crew of the North German Lloyd liner<span> </span><em>Columbus</em>, the 13<sup>th</sup><span> </span>largest steamship in the world, when it was captured by the British ship HMS<span> </span><em>Hyperion</em>. The captain of the<span> </span><em>Columbus</em><span> </span>scuttled his ship and all but 2 of his crew went over the side into lifeboats. The<span> </span><em>Hyperion</em><span> </span>had no room for the Germans and the<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>took the survivors to New York, disembarking them at Ellis Island.</p>
<p>The<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>was honored to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on three different occasions: August 1939, February 1940 and December 1940. Roosevelt fished and entertained British colonial officials—including the Duke<span></span><span> </span>and Duchess<span></span> of Windsor—on board the cruiser.</p>
<p>In November 1942,<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>took part in “Operation Torch” off the coast of French Morocco at Casablanca. She, along with the heavy cruiser<span> </span><em>Wichita</em>, the battleship<span> </span><em>Massachusetts</em>, the aircraft carrier<span> </span><em>Ranger</em><span> </span>and numerous other ships, shelled defensive positions as American troops waded ashore.</p>
<p>On 3 June 1944, <em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>steamed in company with the rest of Task Force 125 (TF 125) bound for the Normandy<span></span><span> </span>beaches. On June 6, she opened fire on Fort Ile de Tatihou, Baie de lan Seine. For the remainder of D-Day, coast defense batteries, artillery positions, troop concentrations, and motor transport all came under the fire of <em>Tuscaloosa<span>'</span>s</em><span> </span>guns, which were aided by her air spotters and by fire control parties attached to Army units on shore. Initial enemy return fire was inaccurate, but it improved enough by the middle of the day to force the cruiser to take evasive action.</p>
<p>In September, when Allied forces had secured footholds in both western and southern France, <em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>returned to the United States for refitting at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. After a short exercise period, she steamed via the Panama Canal to the west coast and reported to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. After stopping briefly at San Diego, she proceeded on westward to Pearl Harbor, where she conducted various exercises before steaming to Ulithi to join Commander, 3rd Fleet in January 1945.</p>
<p>She joined the bombardment group off Iwo Jima at dawn on February 16. Three days later, as waves of landing craft bore marines shoreward to invade the island,<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa's</em><span> </span>guns pounded Japanese positions inland. Then, after the Americans had reached land, her batteries supported their advances with incessant fire and illumination. This continued from February 19 to March 14, throughout all phases of the bitterly fought campaign to wrest the island from the Japanese.</p>
<p><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>was also part of Task Force 54 in March 1945 participating in the operation at Okinawa. Her gunners shot down two kamikaze planes during this battle. She also reported to the 7<sup>th</sup><span> </span>Fleet for duty in Leyte Gulf in June 1945. </p>
<p><em>Tuscaloosa</em><span> </span>received seven battle stars for her World War II service. Never damaged in battle, she led a charmed life compared to her six sister ships, three of which were sunk and the other three heavily damaged. USS Tuscaloosa was decommissioned in Philadelphia on February 13, 1946 and scrapped in 1959.<br /><br />Her mast is the centerpiece of the Tuscaloosa Veterans Memorial Park, which also features one of her five-inch guns.</p>
<p>Source: Wikipedia where you can read more about the USS<span> </span><em>Tuscaloosa; </em>Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships</p>
Division of Naval Intelligence Identification and Characteristics Section
Tuscaloosa Public Library
October 1942
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Becky Compton (Description)
Photograph
699
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Service Group at University Club
The building that is now the University Club at the corner of University Boulevard and Queen City Avenue, was bought by Dr. J.M. Forney in May, 1939, and used as his office until World War II when he entered the service. The house became, for a short time thereafter, the Tuscaloosa Service Center where thousands of servicemen were entertained during the war.
Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society
Unknown, possibly 1940s
Betty Slowe (Description)
Photograph
533
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Korea Veterans
Korean War, 1950-1953
These men fought in the Korean War. At least two are from Tuscaloosa. Bub Wilson Jr. and Howard Washington are in the photograph. The photo was taken in Fort Lewis, Washington in 1951.
Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama
1951
Betty Slowe (Description)
Photograph
599
Tuscaloosa (AL)
World War II and Korean War Monument
Monuments and sites
World War II and Korean War Monument that was erected by the Gold Star Mothers in 1960 at the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse.
Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama
1960
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Photograph
576
Tuscaloosa (AL)