History Detectives

Season 6, Episode 10

Did this record play a dramatic role in the Allied victory during the Second World War? Does this letter link an American President to the high seas piracy of the 1800s? What is the meaning of the markings on a silver bar found in a Spanish shipwreck?

Season 6, Episode 10

54m 7s

Did this record play a dramatic role in the Allied victory during the Second World War? Does this letter link an American President to the high seas piracy of the 1800s? What is the meaning of the markings on a silver bar found in a Spanish shipwreck?

Previews + Extras

  • Monroe Letter: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Monroe Letter

    S6 E10 - 14m 57s

    A Florida woman inherited a letter allegedly penned by future President James Monroe in 1807. This letter seems to reference a monetary debt the financially unstable U.S. Government owed her family. The document leads to a tale of terror on the high seas, with James Monroe attempting to mediate. In Rhode Island and Virginia, host Gwendolyn Wright tracks a conflict that nearly bankrupted America.

  • Blueprint Special: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Blueprint Special

    S6 E10 - 17m 27s

    As a young GI during WWII, our California contributor picked up a 16-inch acetate recording of a promo for a musical called "Hi Yank," a "blueprint special" created by GIs for GIs. Is this record a piece of forgotten history? In Washington, D.C. and Virginia, host Elyse Luray meets with U.S. Army archivists and historians to discuss the military's efforts to boost morale during WWII.

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