The 3rd U.S. Infantry, or Old Guard, was founded in 1784 and is the oldest active infantry unit in the Army. Stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia near Arlington Cemetery, the unit conducts about 8 military funerals each day, and has participated in presidential and state funerals since 1948. American History TV visited Fort Myer to observe funeral preparations and to learn more about the 3rd Infantry’s history and its role in military burials.

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The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia hosted a Civil War Navy Conference in early March to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads, when for the first time, ironclads battled during the Civil War. In this session, David Alberg of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary talks about the recovery and identification of human remains from the USS Monitor, the Union ship that faced off with the CSS Virginia near Hampton Roads in 1862. We also hear from genealogist Lisa Stansbury.
 

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Author and professor David Mindell talks about the technology of the USS Monitor, and the experience of its crew aboard one of the first ironclads. He spoke in early March at the Mariners’ Museum annual Civil War Navy Conference. This year’s conference marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads where, for the first time, ironclad warships met in battle.

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This June marks the 50th Anniversary of two of President John F. Kennedy’s most memorable speeches. On June 10th 1963, JFK delivered the commencement address at American University known as his “Peace Speech.” He called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  On June 26th 1963, President Kennedy took a harder line in West Berlin, famously stating that as a free man he took pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner.” This is a discussion from the Kennedy Presidential Library about the significance and lasting influence of these two addresses.

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The Battle of Gettysburg took place July 1-3, 1863, in Pennsylvania, as Union forces turned back an invasion of the North by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Union victory inspired President Abraham Lincoln to call for “a new birth of freedom” in his address a few months later dedicating the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg. C-SPAN's American History TV was LIVE on June 30 from Gettysburg National Military Park covering events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle, including remarks by scholars such as Harold Holzer, Allen Guelzo, and Doris Kearns Goodwin, as well as your calls and tweets for Civil War Institute Director Peter Carmichael and novelist Jeff Shaara.

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American History TV joined historian Carol Reardon and Col. Tom Vossler to learn the story of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg through a selection of their favorite monuments.

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Virginia Commonwealth University professor Deirdre Condit teaches a class on the history of reproductive law in the U.S. Professor Condit touches on the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut, about the prohibited use of contraceptives and the right to marital privacy. The class also examines rights and access to abortion, looking at the 1962 story of actress Sherri Finkbine, who had taken medication she later discovered causes birth defects, prompting her to fly to Sweden for an abortion. Also discussed is the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion case.

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The Siege of Vicksburg took place from May 18th to July 4th, 1863. After failing to take the city by force, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee laid siege to the city, held by Confederate General John C. Pemberton and his forces. On July 4th, after 47 days, General Pemberton surrendered; and Vicksburg—the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River—was turned over to General Grant and the Union. In this program, we tour Vicksburg National Military Park with Tim Kavanaugh, the park's supervisory ranger for interpretation.

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Vicksburg National Military Park marks the 150th anniversary of the siege of Vicksburg with a ceremony to rededicate the Iowa State Monument, which honors the contributions of Iowa troops to the Union victory. The fall of Vicksburg - the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River – came on July 4, 1863, a day after the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. In this program, Iowa governor Terry Branstad joins former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour to commemorate the Iowa soldiers who fought and died on the Mississippi battlefield. 
 

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During the Civil War, the Union military governor in charge of Alexandria, Virginia, established a cemetery to be used by African Americans who came to the city to escape slavery. Some 1800 freedmen were eventually buried there, but the property became neglected and in the 1950s a gas station was built on the site. The cemetery was “re-discovered” in the late 20th century, and the city has recently investigated the history and archeology of the property. Specialists on Alexandria’s black history and archeology talk about their findings, as well as the building of a memorial to freedmen on the cemetery site.

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