Shelby Foote

Foote moved frequently as his father was promoted within [[Armour and Company]], living in Greenville, [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], and [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]], Mississippi; [[Pensacola, Florida]]; and [[Mobile, Alabama]]. When Foote was five, his father died in Mobile, and his mother moved them back to Greenville.<ref name="chapman">{{Citation | last =Chapman | year =2003 | title =Shelby Foote: A Writer's Life | publisher =University Press of Mississippi | isbn =1-57806-359-0 | first =Stuart | place =Jackson, MS | url =https://archive.org/details/shelbyfootewrite00chap}}</ref> When Foote was 15 years old, he began lifelong friendships with [[Walker Percy]] and his brothers. Foote and Percy influenced each other greatly. Additional influences on Foote's writing were [[Tacitus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Edward Gibbon|Gibbon]] and [[Proust]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/books/shelby-foote-historian-and-novelist-dies-at-88.html "Shelby Foote, Historian and Novelist, Dies at 88"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 29, 2005</ref>

Foote moved frequently as his father was promoted within [[Armour and Company]], living in Greenville, [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], and [[Vicksburg, Mississippi|Vicksburg]], Mississippi; [[Pensacola, Florida]]; and [[Mobile, Alabama]]. When Foote was five, his father died in Mobile, and his mother moved them back to Greenville.<ref name="chapman">{{Citation | last =Chapman | year =2003 | title =Shelby Foote: A Writer's Life | publisher =University Press of Mississippi | isbn =1-57806-359-0 | first =Stuart | place =Jackson, MS | url =https://archive.org/details/shelbyfootewrite00chap}}</ref> When Foote was 15 years old, he began lifelong friendships with [[Walker Percy]] and his brothers. Foote and Percy influenced each other greatly. Additional influences on Foote's writing were [[Tacitus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Edward Gibbon|Gibbon]] and [[Proust]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/books/shelby-foote-historian-and-novelist-dies-at-88.html "Shelby Foote, Historian and Novelist, Dies at 88"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 29, 2005</ref>

At [[Greenville High School (Mississippi)|Greenville High School]], Foote edited the student newspaper, ''The Pica,'' and frequently used it to [[Parody|lampoon]] the school's principal. The principal got his revenge by recommending [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] not admit Foote in 1935. Foote was able to get in only by passing a round of admission tests.<ref name="chapman"/>

At [[Greenville High School (Mississippi)|Greenville High School]], Foote edited the student newspaper, ''The Pica,'' and frequently used it to [[Parody|lampoon]] the school's principal, who in turn exacted revenge by recommending that the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] not admit Foote in 1935. Foote was able to gain admission only by passing a round of admission tests.<ref name="chapman"/>

In 1936, he was initiated in the Alpha Delta chapter of the [[Alpha Tau Omega]] fraternity. Foote often skipped class to explore the library, even spending a night among the shelves. He began contributing pieces of fiction to ''Carolina Magazine,'' UNC's award-winning literary journal.<ref name="chapman"/> Foote returned to Greenville in 1937, where he worked in construction and for a local newspaper ''[[Delta Democrat Times]].'' Foote's Jewish heritage led to discrimination at Chapel Hill, an experience that bolstered his later support for the Civil Rights Movement.<ref name="Huebner">{{cite journal |last1=Huebner |first1=Timothy S. |last2=McGrady |first2=Madeleine M. |date=Winter 2015 |title=Shelby Foote, Memphis, and the Civil War in American Memory |journal=Southern Cultures |volume=21 |issue=4 |jstor=26220240 |pages=25 |doi=10.1353/scu.2015.0044 |s2cid=147664153}}</ref>{{rp|17}}

In 1936, Foote was initiated in the Alpha Delta chapter of the [[Alpha Tau Omega]] fraternity. He often skipped class to explore the library, even spending a night among the shelves. He began contributing pieces of fiction to ''Carolina Magazine,'' UNC's award-winning literary journal.<ref name="chapman"/> Foote returned to Greenville in 1937, where he worked in construction and for a local newspaper ''[[Delta Democrat Times]].'' During Foote's time at Chapel Hill, his Jewish heritage led to discrimination, an experience that bolstered his later support for the Civil Rights Movement.<ref name="Huebner">{{cite journal |last1=Huebner |first1=Timothy S. |last2=McGrady |first2=Madeleine M. |date=Winter 2015 |title=Shelby Foote, Memphis, and the Civil War in American Memory |journal=Southern Cultures |volume=21 |issue=4 |jstor=26220240 |pages=25 |doi=10.1353/scu.2015.0044 |s2cid=147664153}}</ref>{{rp|17}}

In 1940, Foote joined the [[Mississippi National Guard]] and was commissioned as [[Captain (United States)|captain]] of [[artillery]]. His battalion was deployed to [[Northern Ireland]] in 1943. The following year, Foote was court-martialed and dismissed from the service. He was charged with falsifying a government document relating to the check-in of a vehicle he borrowed to visit his girlfriend in [[Belfast]].

In 1940, Foote joined the [[Mississippi National Guard]] and was commissioned as [[Captain (United States)|captain]] of [[artillery]]. His battalion was deployed to [[Northern Ireland]] in 1943. The following year, Foote was charged with falsifying a government document relating to the check-in of a vehicle he borrowed to visit his girlfriend in [[Belfast]]. He was court-martialed and dismissed from the service.

Foote got a job with the [[Associated Press]] in New York City. In January 1945, he enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]] but was discharged as a [[private (rank)|private]] in November 1945 without seeing combat.<ref name="chapman"/>

Foote got a job with the [[Associated Press]] in New York City. In January 1945, he enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]] but was discharged as a [[private (rank)|private]] in November 1945 without seeing combat.<ref name="chapman"/>