Robert Colby
@rkdcolby86.bsky.social
Historian at the University of Mississippi. Author of An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South (OUP, 2024).
Many thanks to Carrie Janney, Brian Neumann, and the @naucivilwar.bsky.social for hosting me this weekend to accept the 2025 Nau Book Prize. I was especially honored as an alum of the UVA History Department have my work recognized where it all began.
November 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Many thanks to Carrie Janney, Brian Neumann, and the @naucivilwar.bsky.social for hosting me this weekend to accept the 2025 Nau Book Prize. I was especially honored as an alum of the UVA History Department have my work recognized where it all began.
Happy to get my hands on the latest from @civilwarjon.bsky.social and Lucas Morel.
September 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Happy to get my hands on the latest from @civilwarjon.bsky.social and Lucas Morel.
Getting ready for my Readings in the Civil War Era class. Excited to dive into some great books this semester with my grad students.
September 1, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Getting ready for my Readings in the Civil War Era class. Excited to dive into some great books this semester with my grad students.
NERFC roadtrip stop #4: the New Hampshire Historical Society.
July 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
NERFC roadtrip stop #4: the New Hampshire Historical Society.
NERFC Fellowship stop #3: the Maine Historical Society.
July 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
NERFC Fellowship stop #3: the Maine Historical Society.
Day 2 of my NERFC roadtrip: looking for breadcrumbs in Dartmouth College's stunning Rauner Library.
July 22, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Day 2 of my NERFC roadtrip: looking for breadcrumbs in Dartmouth College's stunning Rauner Library.
Stop one on my New England Regional Fellowship Consortium road trip: Williams College's Chapin Library. Gorgeous day to be in Western Massachusetts!
July 21, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Stop one on my New England Regional Fellowship Consortium road trip: Williams College's Chapin Library. Gorgeous day to be in Western Massachusetts!
"Fighting Joe" or "Fighting, Joe"?
July 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"Fighting Joe" or "Fighting, Joe"?
First time at the Boston Athenaeum, and it's hard to imagine a more beautiful place in which to do research. Grateful for the support of a Loring Fellowship allowing me to do so.
July 14, 2025 at 2:11 PM
First time at the Boston Athenaeum, and it's hard to imagine a more beautiful place in which to do research. Grateful for the support of a Loring Fellowship allowing me to do so.
Thrilled to be kicking off my time this morning as the Suzanne and Caleb Loring Research Fellow @mhs1791.bsky.social!
July 7, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Thrilled to be kicking off my time this morning as the Suzanne and Caleb Loring Research Fellow @mhs1791.bsky.social!
NARA informing historians they can't park directly at Archives II anymore:
June 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
NARA informing historians they can't park directly at Archives II anymore:
Had a wonderful weekend in Columbus, MS at the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters banquet. Honored to have received the 2025 prize for nonfiction! @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Had a wonderful weekend in Columbus, MS at the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters banquet. Honored to have received the 2025 prize for nonfiction! @oxfordacademic.bsky.social
Excited to check out the latest from Craig Friend, arriving via @uncpress.bsky.social!
June 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Excited to check out the latest from Craig Friend, arriving via @uncpress.bsky.social!
Congratulations to @cnzander.bsky.social, winner of the 2025 Wiley-Silver Prize for the best first book on the Civil War from the Center for Civil War Research at the University of Mississippi!
olemiss.edu/civil-war-re...
olemiss.edu/civil-war-re...
May 7, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Congratulations to @cnzander.bsky.social, winner of the 2025 Wiley-Silver Prize for the best first book on the Civil War from the Center for Civil War Research at the University of Mississippi!
olemiss.edu/civil-war-re...
olemiss.edu/civil-war-re...
As we finish the spring semester and look ahead to the fall, I just wanted to say that if you are assigning An Unholy Traffic in your course, I'd be delighted Zoom about it with your students! I've had a great time talking to students this spring and would love to talk to yours.
May 5, 2025 at 1:12 PM
As we finish the spring semester and look ahead to the fall, I just wanted to say that if you are assigning An Unholy Traffic in your course, I'd be delighted Zoom about it with your students! I've had a great time talking to students this spring and would love to talk to yours.
Looking forward to reading the latest from @uncpress.bsky.social!
May 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Looking forward to reading the latest from @uncpress.bsky.social!
The Center for Civil War Research is proud to present the 2025 Burnham Lecture, today, 5pm, in the Overby Center Auditorium. Please join us for Dr. Lorien Foote's presentation. All are welcome!
April 9, 2025 at 11:58 AM
The Center for Civil War Research is proud to present the 2025 Burnham Lecture, today, 5pm, in the Overby Center Auditorium. Please join us for Dr. Lorien Foote's presentation. All are welcome!
What an absolute pleasure to join @gliamericanhistory.bsky.social and the Oxford University Press team in celebrating Edda Fields-Black's Lincoln Prize-winning Combee last night. Congratulations, Edda, and thanks to GLI for inviting finalists to take part!
April 9, 2025 at 11:51 AM
What an absolute pleasure to join @gliamericanhistory.bsky.social and the Oxford University Press team in celebrating Edda Fields-Black's Lincoln Prize-winning Combee last night. Congratulations, Edda, and thanks to GLI for inviting finalists to take part!
The Center for Civil War Research is hosting a conference this fall on Legal Histories of the Civil War Era! It's shaping up to be a great event (keynote from @arielagross.bsky.social and a fantastic roundtable)! We welcome papers on any CW era legal topic!
networks.h-net.org/group/announ...
networks.h-net.org/group/announ...
March 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
The Center for Civil War Research is hosting a conference this fall on Legal Histories of the Civil War Era! It's shaping up to be a great event (keynote from @arielagross.bsky.social and a fantastic roundtable)! We welcome papers on any CW era legal topic!
networks.h-net.org/group/announ...
networks.h-net.org/group/announ...
Excited to share that my book, An Unholy Traffic, has won the 2025 nonfiction award from the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters!
www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.html
www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.html
March 26, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Excited to share that my book, An Unholy Traffic, has won the 2025 nonfiction award from the Mississippi Institute for Arts and Letters!
www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.html
www.ms-arts-letters.org/winners.html
Thrilled to welcome Lorien Foote to Oxford in a few weeks for the Center for Civil War Research's 2025 Burnham Lecture. If you're in the area, please join us for what should be a great talk on dogs in the Department of the South!
March 24, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Thrilled to welcome Lorien Foote to Oxford in a few weeks for the Center for Civil War Research's 2025 Burnham Lecture. If you're in the area, please join us for what should be a great talk on dogs in the Department of the South!
Last week was a whirlwind, but I'm grateful to have had the opportunities to speak about my book at @naucivilwar.bsky.social and the Alexandria History Museum, as well as to research at NARA, @rareuva.bsky.social, and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
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March 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Last week was a whirlwind, but I'm grateful to have had the opportunities to speak about my book at @naucivilwar.bsky.social and the Alexandria History Museum, as well as to research at NARA, @rareuva.bsky.social, and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
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Excited to be speaking tonight where it began for me as an historian. Very grateful to the @naucivilwar.bsky.social for hosting me.
naucenter.as.virginia.edu/robert-colby...
naucenter.as.virginia.edu/robert-colby...
March 5, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Excited to be speaking tonight where it began for me as an historian. Very grateful to the @naucivilwar.bsky.social for hosting me.
naucenter.as.virginia.edu/robert-colby...
naucenter.as.virginia.edu/robert-colby...
Today I learned that there are buttes in Canyonlands National Park named after the Monitor and Merrimack. I find this delightful.
March 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Today I learned that there are buttes in Canyonlands National Park named after the Monitor and Merrimack. I find this delightful.