All Weekend, Every Weekend. On C-SPAN3.

American Artifacts: War of 1812 Shipwreck

British Depiction of Barney's Burning Flotilla

British Depiction of Barney's Burning Flotilla

Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Saturday, September 1, 2012

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.

Updated: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 12:33pm (ET)

Related Events

Preservation of World Trade Center Ship
Saturday, October 2, 2010     

The Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory is preserving the remains of an 18th century ship recently discovered at the World Trade Center construction site. We talked to the head conservator as well as a Stockholm University tree ring expert who was taking samples from the timbers in the hopes of determining the origins of the ship.

American Artifacts: U.S.S. Sequoia Presidential Yacht (Part II)
Saturday, November 27, 2010     

C-SPAN toured the yacht that served U.S. presidents from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy Carter. Gary Silversmith, who purchased the National Historic Landmark in 2000, has collected stories about the 104 foot wooden vessel from former captains, crew members, and Secret Service agents.

Tour of the U.S.S. Sequoia Presidential Yacht (Part I)
Sunday, November 21, 2010     

C-SPAN toured the yacht that served U.S. presidents from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy Carter. Gary Silversmith, who purchased the National Historic Landmark in 2000, has collected stories about the 104 foot wooden vessel from former captains, crew members, and Secret Service agents.

American Artifacts: The Queen Mary in World War II
Saturday, December 24, 2011     

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.

Myths of the War of 1812 - Donald Hickey
Sunday, April 15, 2012     

This year is the Bicentennial of the start of the War of 1812. Donald Hickey talked about some of the myths that have lingered through history about that war at an event hosted at the Detroit Historical Museum. Mr. Hickey is the author of the book "Don't Give up the Ship! Myths of the War of 1812."

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Historical Marker
Today     

50 years ago, on April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” while being held in prison for his involvement in a city-wide civil rights protest called the Birmingham Campaign. King’s daughter, Bernice King, CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, joins Alabama’s governor, Birmingham’s Mayor and others for the unveiling of a historical marker aside the Birmingham Jail.

1963 Birmingham Civil Rights Campaign
Today     

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham civil rights campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famed “Letter from Birmingham Jail” after being arrested for taking part in the protests. The campaign gained national attention after local officials used dogs and water cannons on kids after they took to the streets in what was known as the “Children’s Crusade.” A panel of authors and historians recall the turmoil of the time, as well as how Birmingham has chosen to remember its past. This event was part of the Alabama Historical Association’s annual conference.

Oral Histories: Freeman Hrabowski
Today     

At the direction of Congress, the voices and experiences from the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century are being documented in an oral history project. This effort is a collaboration of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, the Library of Congress and the Southern Oral History Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Birmingham Civil Rights Campaign: First-Person Accounts
Thursday     

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Rights Campaign in Alabama. The protests gained national attention after local officials used dogs and water cannons on kids after they took to the streets in what was known as the “Children’s Crusade.” This event features first-person accounts of the events in Birmingham that spring, including remarks by those who took part in the children’s protest, as well as student leaders of a boycott of segregated businesses. The discussion took place at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. 

The Presidency: JFK Remembered
Wednesday     

June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University, when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  This is a conversation with two veteran journalists, Tom Brokaw and Nick Clooney, on the Kennedy presidency and the significance of his “Peace Speech.”  This program is hosted by American University’s School of Communication and the Newseum, which is featuring two new exhibits on the Kennedy presidency – “Three Shots Were Fired” and "Creating Camelot".

Share This Event Via Social Media

Photo Gallery

Book TV (late 2012)
Questions? Comments? Email us at AmericanHistoryTV@c-span.org