History Detectives

Bill of Sale, Cobb Powder Horn and the Star Spangled Banner

In this episode, Eduardo investigates the life story behind with a Bill of Sale for a 17-year old “negro girl.” Gwen traces a powder horn from a muddy Minnesota field to the American Revolution. Elyse asks what role a handwritten score played in the creation of our national anthem. Finally, notes in a 1775 Almanac tell how conflicting loyalties strained family ties during the Revolution.

Bill of Sale, Cobb Powder Horn and the Star Spangled Banner

53m 41s

In this episode, Eduardo investigates the life story behind with a Bill of Sale for a 17-year old “negro girl.” Gwen traces a powder horn from a muddy Minnesota field to the American Revolution. Elyse asks what role a handwritten score played in the creation of our national anthem. Finally, notes in a 1775 Almanac tell how conflicting loyalties strained family ties during the Revolution.

Previews + Extras

  • Bill of Sale: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Bill of Sale

    S10 E9 - 14m 33s

    While cleaning out her parents’ attic in Kansas, Jeanie Hans found a box of her grandfather’s possessions. Among some books and old gun manuals she found a disturbing document: an 1829 ‘Bill of Sale’ for the purchase of a 17-year old “negro girl” named Willoby. Jeanie wants to know more about this young girl. Jeanie asks host Eduardo Pagán to find out what happened to Willoby.

  • Cobb Powder Horn: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Cobb Powder Horn

    S10 E9 - 11m 52s

    Almost a hundred years ago in Bemidji, MN, 10 year-old Joseph Burns wriggled his feet in the mud and felt something solid. He reached down and pulled out a powder horn engraved with these words: For Captain Richard Cobb-1762. After all these years, Joseph’s son Robert takes his question to host Gwen Wright: Who is Captain Richard Cobb and what is the story behind this horn?

  • Star Spangled Banner Manuscript: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Star Spangled Banner Manuscript

    S10 E9 - 14m 6s

    A Eugene, Oregon woman was helping her father pack up his house when she found a yellowed document tucked away inside his desk for nearly sixty years. It is a handwritten manuscript for the The Star Spangled Banner which her father got in 1935 as a gift from his mentor, Arnold J. Gantvoort. Elyse Luray sets out to determine what role this document played in the creation of our national anthem.

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