John Sledge
The Wreck of the Saint-Antoine
An 18th-century maritime mishap provoked a tense Franco-Spanish standoff over who controlled Mobile Bay.
The Vine and Olive Colonists’ Perilous Mobile Bay Landfall
Historian John Sledge recounts the Vine and Olive colonists’ perilous Mobile Bay landfall.
“The Pirate bore down on us…”
Maritime historian John Sledge recounts the eventful maiden voyage of the revenue cutter Alabama.
A History of Mobile in 22 Objects: Civil War Speaking Trumpet
This month’s artifact from the History Museum of Mobile — a blockade runner’s speaking trumpet — played a fascinating role in the Civil War.
Bunker Hill in Miniature
In January 1781, while the Revolutionary War raged in the northeast, British forces attempted a sneak attack on a Spanish fortification on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.
Madoc’s Mark: The Persistence of an Alabama Legend
Historian John Sledge explores the riddle of Prince Madoc, the Welsh explorer who, according to legend, discovered the New World via Mobile Bay three centuries before Columbus.
Solano’s Storm
Venture inside the 18th-century Gulf hurricane that wrecked a Spanish invasion fleet.
The Siege of Mobile, 1780
Spanish and British forces clash at Mobile in a Revolutionary-era battle for the Bay.
The St. Mary’s Enigma
A 19th-century painting of a warship sailing into Mobile Bay offers a small dose of history — and a large serving of mystery.
On the Fringe of History
A long-lost document reveals an officer’s account of a reconnaissance mission from Mobile during the Battle of New Orleans.