Charles Pierce Roland (April 8, 1918 – April 12, 2022) was an American historian and professor emeritus of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

who was known for his research field of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Roland was a Captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran. He served as the elected president of the

Southern Historical Association The Southern Historical Association is a professional academic organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States. It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in Sou ...

and contributed to several other historical societies.

Early life

Born in the

western Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its g ...

town Maury City. on April 8, 1918, Roland grew up as the son and grandson of a family of teachers in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

. As a child in the

, he heard numerous primary accounts of the Civil War from veterans, saying in an interview "There were quite a number of veterans of the Civil War living in that area". First graduating from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1938, he had studied under poet

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

. He became a high-school history teacher for two years in

Alamo, Tennessee Alamo is a town in Crockett County, Tennessee. Its population was 2,461 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Alamo, located in the central part of West Tennessee, is the county seat of Crockett County. History Alamo was first founded as a tradin ...

, before moving to Washington, D.C., to start work as a historical aide for the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. Roland would continue in this role until middle of January in 1942 when he was inducted into the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, he would serve as a Captain in the

99th Infantry Division The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the ...

in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

and was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

over the course of his deployment. He later received his master's degree from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

and then his doctoral degree at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

after the war.

Academic career

Roland has served in several academic capacities throughout his career and has authored a considerable amount of published works on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.. Around 1959–1960, he was awarded a fellowship from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

. In 1981, he was elected president of the

. Starting in 1970, following his employment by

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, he became a professor of history emeritus at the University of Kentucky; a position he would hold until he retired in 1988. That same year, the University of Kentucky established the Charles P. Roland Fellowship to support university students, according to the institution, pursuing research "...in American history, especially the history of the Civil War, race relations and the American South." Additionally, he has served as the elected president of the

Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in Louisiana to collect and preserve the history of Louisiana and its archives. The organization was formed, in part, for the operation of New Orleans' Memorial Hall A m ...

, the Harold Keith Johnson Visiting Professor of Military History at the United States Army Military History Institute and Army War College, an executive committee member of the

Kentucky Historical Society The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) was originally established in 1836 as a private organization. It is an agency of the Kentucky state government that records and preserves important historical documents, buildings, and artifacts of Kentucky's ...

, and the chairman of the

Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee The Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee was established in January 1947 within the United States Army. In 1996, it was made a subcommittee of the Department of Defense Historical Advisory Committee. History The Department of the Ar ...

. At various times throughout his career, he also taught and lectured at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Personal life and death

On January 23, 1948, Roland married Allie Lee Roland. They remained married for 70 years until her death on April 26, 2018, shortly after Roland's

100th birthday A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cent ...

. They had three children. Roland died at his home in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, on April 12, 2022, four days after his 104th birthday.

Bibliography

Books

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Articles

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Interviews

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland, Charles P. 1918 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Academics from Tennessee American centenarians Men centenarians American military historians George Washington University alumni Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the United States Louisiana State University alumni Military personnel from Tennessee People from Crockett County, Tennessee People from Henderson, Tennessee United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army War College faculty United States Military Academy faculty University of Kentucky faculty Vanderbilt University alumni Writers from Lexington, Kentucky 20th-century American male writers United States Army officers