John Sledge
The Pirate Navigator
On the cusp of the 18th century, great changes were underway in the Gulf of Mexico. Spain’s almost two-centuries-long grip on the region was weakening, and rival...
The True Story of the ‘Rachel’
Historian John S. Sledge shares the remarkable tale of the antique ship that graces the shores of Fort Morgan.
Schoolyard Rivalry
It’s easily the most intense college football rivalry in the country — Auburn vs. Alabama. And if you live in the Heart of Dixie, which team you support matters...
The Battle of Mobile Bay Revisited
Every Old Mobile family worth its salt will claim a blockade runner somewhere in the family tree. Heaven knows plenty of daring men attempted to run the formidable Yankee cordon into...
The Fall of Mobile
One hundred and fifty years ago this month, on April 12, 1865, Confederate Mobile surrendered to Federal troops. The city’s strategic importance had already been neutralized...
Westward Expansion
West Mobile. Where is it exactly? What comprises it? What are we to make of it? Questions like these periodically arise as Mobile continues to grow ever farther from...
Marked by Excellence
Big, colorful and visible from blocks away, simple cut-metal markers designate Mobile’s most historic and beautifully restored properties. From downtown Dauphin Street to Georgia Avenue, Government...
Those Rare Mobile Winters
Mobile has four seasons, wags say – early summer, middle summer, late summer and January. By this calculus, February shouldn’t be considered a winter month...
Young Pioneers
Jean Baptiste Le Moyne,  Sieur de Bienville, Founder Young adults have long played important roles in Alabama’s Port City. In fact, Mobile’s founder and guiding...
Guiding Light
On a clear day, it can be spotted from the Fairhope Municipal Pier, a little geometrical oddity standing on the horizon, looking for all the world...
