In 1812, Joshua Barney, a retired naval hero of the Revolutionary War proposed a plan for a fleet of American barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay area against the British. In August, 1814, Barney was forced to destroy & sink his fleet of 15 vessels in Maryland's Patuxent River to prevent their capture. The suspected flagship "Scorpion" was discovered under the river mud in 1979 and partially excavated. Now, underwater archaeologist Robert Neyland of the Navy History and Heritage Command is leading a team to further study the wreck. American History TV visited the river with Mr. Neyland to learn about the project, and visited the Navy's Underwater Archaeology lab in the Washington Navy yard where the artifacts are studied.

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American History TV visited Long Beach, California to tour the RMS Queen Mary and learn about the service provided by the massive ocean liner during World War II. The Queen Mary was in service between 1936 and 1967, and has been restored and operated as a hotel for the past 40 years.

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On May 14, 1607, 104 English settlers landed on Jamestown island, Virginia to establish a colony for the Virginia Company.  Thought to be lost to history forever under the James River, the original fort was rediscovered in 1994 by archaeologist William Kelso.  In this program, we join Mr. Kelso for an “In the Trenches” tour as he explains how he unearthed the original fort. And we visit Bly Straube in the archaeology lab where more than 1.5 million artifacts are studied to help reveal what life was like inside Jamestown fort over 400 years ago.

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American History TV visits Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, a “living history” museum that depicts early New England life from 1790 to 1840. Now, we hear from costumed historians who present what is was like to live and work in 19th-century New England. Curator Tom Kelleher serves as our guide.
 

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Using works of art, mechanical inventions, and scientific discoveries, “The Great American Hall of Wonders” exhibit examines innovation in 19th Century America. American History TV attended a press preview and toured the Smithsonian American Art Museum show with guest curator Claire Perry.

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In this program from our 1999 "American Presidents: Life Portraits" series we focused on James Garfield's life and career. Historians discussed Garfield's military service, his election as president and assassination shortly after his inauguration. Suzanne Miller, the site manager at Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, talked about several of the artifacts and documents that Garfield left behind. 

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C-SPAN’s Local Content Vehicles take American History TV on the road. Throughout the weekend of May 18-20 we feature the history of Columbia, South Carolina.

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Thousands of colonists rejected the War for American Independence and many fled to the British stronghold of New York City. San Jose State University History Professor Ruma Chopra discusses the situation in the city and the perspective of those who looked upon the British as natural allies in religion, language and blood and thought the violence of rebellion was unnecessary and unlawful.

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This is a look at President Eisenhower’s views and actions in the area of civil rights, including the desegregation of the armed forces, his appointments of pro-civil rights Supreme Court justices and the dispatching of the 101st Airborne division to assist in the integration of Little Rock High School in Arkansas.  This discussion was part of a conference titled, “Ike Reconsidered: Lessons from the Eisenhower Legacy for the 21st Century,” co-hosted by Hunter College, City University of New York, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute & the Eisenhower Foundation.

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American History TV visited San Francisco’s Chinatown to follow historian Charlie Chin as he tells the story of the Chinese in America to a group of college students. This is part one of a three-part series on San Francisco’s Chinatown. This portion of the series was recorded in the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.
 

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