John Sledge
John T. Grant’s “Indispensable” Pass
In 1839, a gifted hydraulic engineer dredged a critical link between Mobile and New Orleans.
The Tattooed Cabinetmaker of French Mobile
Robert Talon could boast an extraordinary life lived amidst three distinct Gulf Coast cultures in his 37 years.
A Historian’s Restoration Wish List Ten Years On
A decade ago, MB asked historian John Sledge to share his personal restoration wish list. Happily, the intervening decade has been a strong one for historic preservation in Mobile. Allow us as a brief review of the successes of the past 10 years and a look at what remains in peril.
The Nevis Affair
The Caribbean scandal that exposed the extensive corruption of Mobile’s founder.
The Legend of Mobile’s Princess Charlotte Christina Sophia
Did an adventurer impersonating a dead Russian princess really live in French Mobile?
A Plan to Crush French Mobile
Indian agent Thomas Nairne decided that the interests of the British Crown were threatened by French Mobile — so he set out to manipulate tribes to destroy them.
The Black Warrior Affair
In the winter of 1854, a steamer out of Mobile sparked a diplomatic incident that threatened war between the United States and Spain over Cuba.
Lost at Sea: The Men of SS Azalea City
In February 1942, a merchant vessel with a Mobile connection disappeared without a trace.
A Little Garden of Eden
Historian John Sledge leads us on a stroll through the streets of Spanish Mobile.
George Gauld: A Man of Ability
Maritime historian John S. Sledge recounts the story of a Scottish cartographer’s 18th-century visit to Mobile Bay and the stunning map it yielded.
