Charles P. Roland
Encyclopedia
Charles Pierce Roland is an American
historian
and professor emeritus of the University of Kentucky
whose research specialty is in the fields of the American South and the Civil War
.
Maury City
in Crockett County in western Tennessee
and lived through most of the great events of the 20th century and beyond. His 132-page My Odyssey Through History: Memoirs of War and Academe mixes personal recollections with social commentary, particularly on the Great Depression
, World War II
, and his 50-year academic career.
The son and grandson of educators, Roland attended from 1934 to 1936 the Christian
-affiliated Freed-Hardeman University
, then a junior college
in Henderson
in Chester County, also in western Tennessee. He then transferred to Vanderbilt University
in Nashville
, from which he graduated in 1938 at the age of twenty. From 1938-1940, he was a young schoolteacher at Alamo High School in Alamo
in his native Crockett County. From 1940 to 1942 and again from 1946–1947, he was an historian for the National Park Service
within the United States Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.
After the 1941 Japan
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, Roland joined the United States Army
as a captain in the infantry in the European Theatre of World War II
. He fought in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge
. Roland earned a Purple Heart
fighting in the Remagen Bridgehead
, had close brushes with death, and mourned the loss of friends in battle. He witnessed the destruction of German
cities. He was also awarded a Bronze Star medal. His memoir compares and contrasts World War II with the Civil War.
Using the GI Bill of Rights of 1944, Roland studied briefly at George Washington University
in Washington, D.C., and then procured his Ph.D.
in history in 1951 from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
, where his scholarly mentors included Francis Butler Simkins
, specialist in southern studies, T. Harry Williams
, the authority on both the Civil War and on U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Bell I. Wiley
, the pioneer historian of the common soldiers of the Civil War. After his graduate studies, Roland returned to the military during the Korean War
as the assistant to the chief historian of the Army. He then pursued his academic career, having taught from 1952 to 1970 at Tulane University
in New Orleans
, with service as department chairman from 1960 to 1970. He then taught another eighteen years from 1970 to 1988 at the UK in Lexington
, Kentucky
.
His An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War, originally published in New York City
in 1991 by McGraw Hill, compares the American war to the ancient fight between Greece
and Troy
from the standpoint of outstanding heroism and sacrifice.
The Improbable Era: The South since World War II is a study of the political, social, and economic changes that occurred in the American South in the thirty years since the end of World War II. The book ends before the massive partisan shift which later took root in the former one-party region but covers the civil rights movement
and the rise of industrial development.
Louisiana Sugar Plantations during the Civil War was originally published in 1957 by E. J. Brill of Leiden, Netherlands and re-released in 1997 by the Louisiana State University Press
in Baton Rouge
. The book is a study of the metamorphosis that sugar planters and farmers endured with the Union
occupation of the cane sugar lands. Roland could not get the book published until the civil rights movement
aroused new interest in 19th century southern slavery. His mentor, Francis Butler Simkins, advised him on the book.
Reflections on Lee: A Historian's Assessment is Roland's attempt to offer a balanced treatment of General Robert E. Lee
, to show weaknesses beyond the strengths long attributed to the icon of the Lost Cause.
Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics examines the improbable career of the Kentucky-born Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston
, living in Texas
at the outbreak of the Civil War, who was in 1862 mortally wounded at the Battle of Shiloh
in Tennessee. Roland describes Johnston as "a leader of men . . . He considered the welfare of the troops under him an inviolable trust. When hardship or hazard was their lot, he shared it without hesitation. Johnston's last words to his embattled troops were, 'I will lead you.' Small wonder that his associates looked upon him with deference. They 'not only respected him but loved him.'. . ." Perhaps only the loss of General Stonewall Jackson
in 1863 was greater to the Confederacy
than the death of Johnston.
Roland's The Confederacy was published in 1962 as part of the series The Chicago History of American Civilization, edited by Daniel J. Boorstin
. It was released by the University of Chicago Press
. A publisher's promotion brochure maintains that Roland heeds "careful attention to President Davis
' struggle against dividing forces within. . . . [and that] he skillfully narrates the attempt of the Confederacy to wage total war against superior forces. All the poignant events and conditions are here: the formation of the government, the Upper South's final commitment to the cause, the doomed attempts to combat the Northern blockade
at home and Northern diplomacy overseas, an agrarian economy's heroic defiance of an industrial enemy, the desperate measures by which the Davis government tried to sustain the Confederacy, and, at last, the dissolution and flight of the administration in 1865."
. He was the president too of the Louisiana Historical Association
from 1969-1970. Roland is a recipient of the Civil War Education Association’s William Woods Hassler Award for notable achievements in the discipline. From 1959 to 1965, Roland was a member of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission. From 1960-1961, he was a Guggenheim fellow.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and professor emeritus of the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
whose research specialty is in the fields of the American South and the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Biographical sketch
Roland was born to Clifford Paul Roland and the former Grace Paysinger in ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Maury City
Maury City, Tennessee
Maury City is a town in Crockett County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 674 at the 2000 census.Charles P. Roland, historian of the American Civil War and the American South was born in Maury City in 1918...
in Crockett County in western Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and lived through most of the great events of the 20th century and beyond. His 132-page My Odyssey Through History: Memoirs of War and Academe mixes personal recollections with social commentary, particularly on the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and his 50-year academic career.
The son and grandson of educators, Roland attended from 1934 to 1936 the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-affiliated Freed-Hardeman University
Freed-Hardeman University
Freed-Hardeman University is a primarily undergraduate university in Henderson, Tennessee. The university is located within a short distance of the town's central area. The university traces its heritage to the members of the Churches of Christ who helped build it...
, then a junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
in Henderson
Henderson, Tennessee
Henderson is an incorporated city in Chester County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,670 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County...
in Chester County, also in western Tennessee. He then transferred to Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, from which he graduated in 1938 at the age of twenty. From 1938-1940, he was a young schoolteacher at Alamo High School in Alamo
Alamo, Tennessee
Alamo, Tennessee, is a town in Crockett County, Tennessee. Its population was 2,461 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Alamo, for interesting historical reasons, is the county seat of Crockett County, Tennessee...
in his native Crockett County. From 1940 to 1942 and again from 1946–1947, he was an historian for the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
within the United States Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
After the 1941 Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Roland joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a captain in the infantry in the European Theatre of World War II
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
. He fought in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. Roland earned a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
fighting in the Remagen Bridgehead
Remagen
Remagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...
, had close brushes with death, and mourned the loss of friends in battle. He witnessed the destruction of German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
cities. He was also awarded a Bronze Star medal. His memoir compares and contrasts World War II with the Civil War.
Using the GI Bill of Rights of 1944, Roland studied briefly at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, D.C., and then procured his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in history in 1951 from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, where his scholarly mentors included Francis Butler Simkins
Francis Butler Simkins
Francis Butler Simkins was a historian and a past president of the who made important contributions to the study of race relations. Born in Edgefield, South Carolina, United States, Simkins received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina in 1918 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia...
, specialist in southern studies, T. Harry Williams
T. Harry Williams
Thomas Harry Williams was an award-winning historian at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge whose career began in 1941 and extended for thirty-eight years until his death at the age of seventy...
, the authority on both the Civil War and on U.S. Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Bell I. Wiley
Bell I. Wiley
Bell Irvin Wiley was an American historian who specialized on the American Civil War, and was an authority on military history and the social history of common people....
, the pioneer historian of the common soldiers of the Civil War. After his graduate studies, Roland returned to the military during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
as the assistant to the chief historian of the Army. He then pursued his academic career, having taught from 1952 to 1970 at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, with service as department chairman from 1960 to 1970. He then taught another eighteen years from 1970 to 1988 at the UK in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Principal Roland books
Roland has written a number of historical works.His An American Iliad: The Story of the Civil War, originally published in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1991 by McGraw Hill, compares the American war to the ancient fight between Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
from the standpoint of outstanding heroism and sacrifice.
The Improbable Era: The South since World War II is a study of the political, social, and economic changes that occurred in the American South in the thirty years since the end of World War II. The book ends before the massive partisan shift which later took root in the former one-party region but covers the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and the rise of industrial development.
Louisiana Sugar Plantations during the Civil War was originally published in 1957 by E. J. Brill of Leiden, Netherlands and re-released in 1997 by the Louisiana State University Press
Louisiana State University Press
The Louisiana State University Press is a nonprofit book publisher and an academic unit of Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, the press publishes scholarly, general interest, and regional books as part of the university’s mission to disseminate knowledge and culture...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. The book is a study of the metamorphosis that sugar planters and farmers endured with the Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
occupation of the cane sugar lands. Roland could not get the book published until the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
aroused new interest in 19th century southern slavery. His mentor, Francis Butler Simkins, advised him on the book.
Reflections on Lee: A Historian's Assessment is Roland's attempt to offer a balanced treatment of General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, to show weaknesses beyond the strengths long attributed to the icon of the Lost Cause.
Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics examines the improbable career of the Kentucky-born Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
, living in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
at the outbreak of the Civil War, who was in 1862 mortally wounded at the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
in Tennessee. Roland describes Johnston as "a leader of men . . . He considered the welfare of the troops under him an inviolable trust. When hardship or hazard was their lot, he shared it without hesitation. Johnston's last words to his embattled troops were, 'I will lead you.' Small wonder that his associates looked upon him with deference. They 'not only respected him but loved him.'. . ." Perhaps only the loss of General Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
in 1863 was greater to the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
than the death of Johnston.
Roland's The Confederacy was published in 1962 as part of the series The Chicago History of American Civilization, edited by Daniel J. Boorstin
Daniel J. Boorstin
Daniel Joseph Boorstin was an American historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was appointed twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987.- Biography:...
. It was released by the University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
. A publisher's promotion brochure maintains that Roland heeds "careful attention to President Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
' struggle against dividing forces within. . . . [and that] he skillfully narrates the attempt of the Confederacy to wage total war against superior forces. All the poignant events and conditions are here: the formation of the government, the Upper South's final commitment to the cause, the doomed attempts to combat the Northern blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
at home and Northern diplomacy overseas, an agrarian economy's heroic defiance of an industrial enemy, the desperate measures by which the Davis government tried to sustain the Confederacy, and, at last, the dissolution and flight of the administration in 1865."
Associations
In 1979, Roland was elected president of the Southern Historical AssociationSouthern Historical Association
The Southern Historical Association is an organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States . It was organized on November 2, 1934...
. He was the president too of the Louisiana Historical Association
Louisiana Historical Association
The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization of professional historians and interested laypersons dedicated to the preservation, publication, and dissemination of the history of the U.S. state of Louisiana, with particular emphasis at the inception on territorial, statehood, and the...
from 1969-1970. Roland is a recipient of the Civil War Education Association’s William Woods Hassler Award for notable achievements in the discipline. From 1959 to 1965, Roland was a member of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission. From 1960-1961, he was a Guggenheim fellow.