Civil War Letters, Aviation Fabric & African American...

Eduardo: THIS WEEK ON HISTORY DETECTIVES: WHAT CAN THESE LETTERS REVEAL ABOUT A RACIALLY CHARGED MASSACRE ON A CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD?

WE ARE STANDING ON HALLOWED GROUND.

Tukufu: HOW DO THE SIGNATURES ON THIS PATCH OF FABRIC CONNECT CHARLES LINDBERGH TO ANOTHER FIRST IN FLIGHT?

Gwendolyn: AND DID THE MAKERS OF THIS 1950s COMIC BOOK HAVE MORE THAN ROMANCE ON THEIR MINDS?

THAT IS REALLY SOMETHING.

Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Eduardo: OUR FIRST CASE ASKS WHAT A YOUNG SOLDIER'S LETTER MAY REVEAL ABOUT A BLOODY CHAPTER IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.

BY 1864, AFTER THREE LONG YEARS OF CIVIL WAR, THE TIDE IS FINALLY TURNING IN THE UNION'S FAVOR.

IN VIRGINIA, GENERAL GRANT'S ARMY OF THE POTOMAC MOVES TO SURROUND RICHMOND.

IN GEORGIA, GENERAL SHERMAN PUSHES TOWARDS ATLANTA.

AND IN THE WEST, A UNION SPEAR HAS BEEN AIMED AT TEXAS, ATTEMPTING TO SLICE IT FROM THE CONFEDERACY.

MANY OF THE UNION SOLDIERS IN THAT RED RIVER CAMPAIGN ARE EX-SLAVES.

NOW ARMED, THEY WILL CONFRONT THEIR FORMER MASTERS IN ARKANSAS DURING THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION.

IT WILL PROVE ONE OF THE MOST VICIOUS EPISODES OF THE CIVIL WAR.

[ cannon fires ] NOW A COUPLE FROM LA GRANDE, OREGON, HAVE CORRESPONDENCE THAT THEY THINK MAY BE AN ACCOUNT OF ONE MAN'S EXPERIENCE IN THIS LITTLE KNOWN CORNER OF THE CIVIL WAR.

WE'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SOLDIER WE DISCOVERED IN THESE LETTERS.

I'M EDUARDO PAGAN, AND I'M STARTING MY INVESTIGATION WITH A FEW QUESTIONS FOR DALE AND ELLEN CAMPBELL.

HI, I'M EDUARDO FROM HISTORY DETECTIVES.

- COME ON IN.

- THANK YOU.

WELL, WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THESE LETTERS?

I PURCHASED A GROUP OF PHILATELIC MATERIALS, STAMPS AND COVERS, AND ELLEN AND I, WE DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS AN INTERESTING STORY.

WELL, WE HAVE A LETTER HERE THAT WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN BLACKFORD TO HIS BROTHER.

JOHN IS A SOLDIER WRITING TO WILLIAM, WHO APPEARS TO BE A POLITICIAN.

THE ENVELOPES ARE ADDRESSED TO MR. WILLIAM D. BLACKFORD, SENATE POST, WASHINGTON, D.C.

IT SOUNDS LIKE JOHN, THE YOUNGER BROTHER, IS SERVING IN THE CIVIL WAR.

THERE'S A REFERENCE DOWN HERE TO A SKIRMISH WITH THE REBELS, AND THERE'S AN INTERESTING PASSAGE IN THIS LETTER THAT JOHN WROTE TO WILLIAM RIGHT HERE.

"YOU ASKED ME IN YOUR LAST LETTER IF I WOULD BE WILLING "TO ACCEPT A LIEUTENANT'S OR CAPTAIN'S COMMISSION IN A COLORED REGIMENT."

WHICH I THOUGHT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING.

FASCINATING.

THE SECOND LETTER TO WILLIAM IS FROM ANOTHER SOLDIER, AMOS PECK.

IT'S FROM LATER IN THE WAR AND COMES AFTER SOME KIND OF BATTLE.

IT SAYS THAT "YOUR BROTHER JOHN WAS WOUNDED AND TAKEN PRISONER BY THE ENEMY AND WAS ALIVE AND AT CAMDEN."

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO AMOS PECK WAS?

I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM.

THE FATE OF THE WOUNDED JOHN BLACKFORD HAS HAUNTED DALE AND ELLEN.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO FIND OUT?

WE'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN, WHY HE'S INTERESTED IN A COMMISSION WITH THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGIMENT, AND WE'RE WONDERING IF HE SURVIVED.

[ ♪♪♪ ] WELL, THESE ARE TWO ENVELOPES AND TWO LETTERS THAT CERTAINLY APPEAR TO BE SPECIFIC TO THE PERIOD.

JOHN'S LETTER'S A LITTLE HARD TO READ.

THE INK HAS BLED THROUGH FROM THE OTHER SIDE.

BUT THERE ARE PARTS TO THIS THAT I CAN MAKE OUT.

DATE LINE: SPRINGFIELD, JUNE 22nd.

BUT NO YEAR.

THE LETTER IS A REMINDER OF THE TEDIUM OF AN EVERYDAY SOLDIER AND HIS HOPES OF PROMOTION.

HE CLOSES THE LETTER BY ASKING, "I HOPE YOU WILL SUCCEED IN GETTING MY COMMISSION."

IN MY PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS OF CIVIL WAR HISTORY, I DON'T REMEMBER COMING ACROSS A SENATOR NAMED WILLIAM BLACKFORD.

IF HE'S NOT A SENATOR, WHY WOULD HE HAVE THIS ADDRESS?

I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF JOHN BLACKFORD.

HE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN REASONABLY LITERATE.

HIS LITERACY IN ITSELF WOULD NOT BE A DETERMINANT WHETHER HE WAS WHITE OR BLACK, ALTHOUGH IT DOES SUGGEST THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN WHITE, GIVEN THAT WHITES HAD MORE ACCESS TO EDUCATION.

THERE IS SOME REFERENCE TO BEING DOWN IN ARKANSAS AND A SKIRMISH WITH REBELS IN WHICH 30 PRISONERS WERE CAPTURED.

THE MIDDLE INITIAL, I CAN'T QUITE TELL WHETHER THAT'S AN E OR A C. THIS IS AMOS PECK'S LETTER.

ITS DATE LINE IS "CAMP, 2nd KANSAS CAVALRY, CLARKSVILLE, ARKANSAS, JULY 4, 1864."

AGAIN, ARKANSAS.

IT'S TO WILLIAM BLACKFORD, AND IT'S MIXED NEWS.

"SIR, I LEARNED FROM A MAN NEAR CAMDEN, ARKANSAS, "IN THE MONTH OF MAY THAT YOUR BROTHER JOHN WAS WOUNDED AND TAKEN PRISONER BY THE ENEMY AND WAS ALIVE."

DID JOHN SURVIVE HIS WOUNDS?

BUT FIRST, I WANT TO FIND WHETHER HE WAS COMMISSIONED IN AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGIMENT.

THE WALL OF HONOR AT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., LISTS THE NAMES OF 209,145 SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS WHO SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES' COLORED REGIMENTS DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

HISTORIAN HARI JONES WRITES ABOUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WAR EFFORT.

THESE ARE THE LETTERS THAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT, WRITTEN BY JOHN C. BLACKFORD.

AND OVER HERE YOU'LL SEE A REFERENCE TO A COMMISSION IN A COLORED REGIMENT.

I'M TRYING TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER HE ACTUALLY GOT THAT COMMISSION AND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT JOHN BLACKFORD.

MOST OF THE OFFICERS IN THE UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS ARE EUROPEAN-AMERICAN OFFICERS.

HARI EXPLAINS, FOR MOST, BECOMING AN OFFICER MEANT HIGHER PAY AND A HIGHER STATION.

BUT SOME ABOLITIONISTS SOUGHT COMMISSIONS TO FIGHT FOR THEIR IDEALS.

REGARDLESS OF MOTIVATION, OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS IN THE 166 REGIMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS OFTEN FACED HARSH TREATMENT FROM THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.

JEFF DAVIS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERACY, IN DECEMBER OF 1862 ISSUED A PROCLAMATION THAT SAID, QUOTE, "THESE NEGRO SOLDIERS," CLOSE QUOTE, WHEN THEY WERE CAPTURED, THEY WOULD BE RETURNED TO SLAVERY.

IF THEY COULDN'T FIND THEIR OWNERS, THEY WOULD SIMPLY BE SOLD INTO SLAVERY.

AND THE OFFICERS, WHETHER OF EUROPEAN DESCENT OR AFRICAN DESCENT, WOULD BE INDICTED FOR INCITING A SERVILE INSURRECTION, AND IF FOUND GUILTY, EXECUTED.

WHEN THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS, IT'S NOT LEGAL FOR MEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT TO JOIN THE FEDERAL ARMY.

JULY 1862, CONGRESS PASSED THE MILITIA ACT, WHICH GAVE PRESIDENT LINCOLN THE AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE MEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT INTO THE FEDERAL ARMY.

HARI EXPLAINS THAT MANY OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS WHO WERE FORMER SLAVES WOULD JOIN UNION REGIMENTS PASSING THROUGH THEIR REGION.

THIS WORKED TO THE UNION ARMY'S STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE.

NOW, THESE ARE MOSTLY SOUTHERNERS, SO THEY KNOW THE GROUND.

SO THEY DO A LOT OF LONG-RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROLS, THEY DO A LOT OF PATROLS JUST LAYING OUT THE GROUND FOR ROUTES OF MARCH.

ALSO, A LOT OF FORAGING.

HARI SAYS SUCH FORAGING WAS DANGEROUS WORK, PARTICULARLY WHEN CONFRONTED WITH CONFEDERATE TROOPS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN THEIR FORMER MASTERS.

THEY'RE VERY ANGRY, AND YOU SEE A NUMBER OF INCIDENTS WHERE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WHEN CAPTURED AS A PRISONER OF WAR, THEY WILL NOT BE TAKEN IN AS A PRISONER OF WAR BUT INSTEAD ARE MASSACRED, EXECUTED.

DID JOHN BLACKFORD LEAD COLORED TROOPS INTO BATTLE?

IF HE DID GET HIS COMMISSION, HIS NAME WILL BE ON THE WALL OF HONOR.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN DO IT.

HARI EXPLAINS HOW NAMES ARE LISTED BY STATE AND REGIMENT.

SINCE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT UNIT JOHN SERVED IN, IT'S A STRETCH.

WE DON'T FIND HIS NAME IN THE COLORED REGIMENTS FOR ARKANSAS OR KANSAS, BUT HARI HAS A DATABASE WE CAN CHECK.

Hari: WE GET 15 JOHN BLACKFORDS.

I SEE TWO JOHN C. BLACKFORDS.

JOHN C. BLACKFORD, CONFEDERATE CAVALRY, 2nd BATTALION, MARYLAND CAVALRY.

THAT'S NOT OUR GUY.

OUR SECOND JOHN C. BLACKFORD IS UNION CAVALRY, 2nd REGIMENT KANSAS CAVALRY.

AMOS PECK, WHO WROTE OUR SECOND LETTER TELLING US JOHN HAD BEEN WOUNDED WAS WITH THE MOSTLY WHITE 2nd KANSAS CAVALRY.

LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN GET ON JOHN C. BLACKFORD.

CLICK HIS NAME.

UNION, COMPANY H. ALTERNATIVE NAME: JOHN E. BLACKFORD.

SO THIS IS MORE THAN LIKELY OUR GUY.

SO JOHN BLACKFORD WAS WHITE, AND THE DATABASE ALSO REVEALS HIS MILITARY STATUS.

SOLDIER'S RANK IN: PRIVATE.

SOLDIER'S RANK OUT: PRIVATE.

JOHN NEVER MADE OFFICER, BUT DID HE SURVIVE HIS WOUNDS?

THE KANSAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN TOPEKA HAS MATERIALS DEVOTED TO ALL THE KANSAS CIVIL WAR REGIMENTS.

HI, I'M EDUARDO FROM HISTORY DETECTIVES.

HEAD OF REFERENCE SERVICES LYN FREDERICKSON IS CARETAKER OF THE SOCIETY'S 50 MILLION DOCUMENTS.

SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE ENLISTMENTS FROM THE KANSAS ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE FOR THE CIVIL WAR.

THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOWN HERE ON SIX.

OKAY, HERE THEY ARE.

LYN SAYS DR. VIRGIL DEAN, THE EDITOR OF KANSAS HISTORY, MAY BE ABLE TO HELP ME RUN DOWN INFORMATION ON JOHN BLACKFORD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

I'M INVESTIGATING TWO LETTERS THAT WERE WRITTEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THESE ENLISTMENT RECORDS THAT LYN BROUGHT US.

THESE ARE FOR THE 2nd KANSAS CAVALRY, AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE HAVE HERE.

- THERE HE IS.

- YEAH, HERE WE GO.

THIS IS FANTASTIC.

FROM THE TOWN OF LAWRENCE.

HIS OCCUPATION WAS A BLACKSMITH.

AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HIS PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

HE HAD HAZEL EYES, DARK HAIR, FAIR COMPLEXION, AND HE WAS 18 YEARS OF AGE.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WILLIAM D. BLACKFORD?

VIRGIL SAYS JOHN'S BROTHER WILLIAM IS A KNOWN FIGURE IN KANSAS HISTORY.

WILLIAM D. BLACKFORD CAME TO KANSAS TERRITORY IN ABOUT 1857.

HE WAS INVOLVED WITH THE FREE STATE MOVEMENT.

THE FREE STATE MOVEMENT WANTED KANSAS TO BAN SLAVERY.

WILLIAM WAS A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE AND EVENTUALLY THE PRIVATE SECRETARY TO KANSAS SENATOR JAMES LANE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. WELL, THAT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY BOTH OF THESE ENVELOPES ARE ADDRESSED TO WILLIAM BLACKFORD AT THE SENATE POST OFFICE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. YEAH, EXACTLY.

JAMES LANE CONTROLLED THE APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS TO KANSAS REGIMENTS RAISED FOR THE UNION ARMY, INCLUDING TWO COLORED UNITS.

BUT VIRGIL HAS NO RECORD OF WHY JOHN DIDN'T RECEIVE THE COMMISSION.

WELL, THE SECOND LETTER MENTIONS A CAMPAIGN OR AN EVENT OR A BATTLE OF SOME KIND NEAR CAMDEN, ARKANSAS.

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?

YEAH, THE 2nd KANSAS WAS PART OF THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION, AND JOHN APPARENTLY WAS AMONG THOSE WHO WAS WOUNDED IN THAT BATTLE.

IT WAS DISASTER FOR A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY THE BLACK TROOPS WHO WERE INVOLVED.

THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION WAS PART OF THE RED RIVER CAMPAIGN, A UNION PLAN TO DESTROY CONFEDERATE FORCES IN ARKANSAS AND NORTHERN LOUISIANA AND HELP CUT TEXAS FROM THE CONFEDERACY.

VIRGIL SAYS PECK'S LETTER MOST LIKELY PUTS JOHN IN A BATTLE AT A PLACE CALLED POISON SPRING.

AN EXPEDITION OF UNION SOLDIERS FORAGING FOR FOOD HAVE BEEN AMBUSHED.

DID JOHN MAKE IT OUT ALIVE?

I'M MEETING ARKANSAS CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN MARK CHRIST AT THE SITE OF THE POISON SPRING BATTLEFIELD NEAR CAMDEN, ARKANSAS.

MARK EXPLAINS HOW, ON APRIL 18th, A FORAGE PARTY LOADED WITH FOOD AND SUPPLIES WAS MAKING ITS WAY BACK TO UNION FORTIFICATIONS AT CAMDEN.

THERE WERE 198 WAGONS IN THE WAGON TRAIN, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN PULLED BY TWO TO FOUR HORSES AND MULES.

SO THE WAGON TRAIN WOULD HAVE STRETCHED A MILE OR LONGER.

JUST FIVE MILES INTO THE RETURN TRIP, THEY RODE INTO A CONFEDERATE TRAP.

WHEN THEY REACH THIS APPROXIMATE LOCATION, THEY RUN INTO A DIVISION OF ARKANSAS TROOPS THAT'S SPREAD ACROSS THE ROAD UP THERE, BLOCKING THEM FROM GOING TO CAMDEN.

THE ARKANSAS FORCES WERE BACKED BY A DIVISION OF TEXAS AND MISSOURI TROOPS AND A BRIGADE OF CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW FIGHTERS.

MEMBERS OF THESE TRIBES HAD JOINED THE CONFEDERACY IN 1861 AFTER A JOINT TREATY GAVE THEM TITLE TO THEIR LANDS IN RETURN FOR THEIR MILITARY SUPPORT.

THE CONFEDERATES OPENED FIRE.

THE BATTERIES CATCH THE 1st KANSAS IN A CROSSFIRE AND START CUTTING THEM TO PIECES.

OVER 3,500 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS FACE OFF AGAINST FEWER THAN 1,200 UNION FIGHTERS.

MARK SAYS THIS FEDERAL FORCE INCLUDED MEN FROM THE 2nd KANSAS CAVALRY, AND AMONG THEM WAS JOHN BLACKFORD.

COLONEL WILLIAMS ORDERED THE 1st KANSAS COLORED TO RUSH TO THE FRONT OF THE WAGON TRAIN.

THE 1st KANSAS KNOW THEY'RE IN A DESPERATE SITUATION.

THEY OPEN FIRE WITH BUCK AND BALL AND THEY FIGHT OFF THAT INITIAL CHARGE.

THE CONFEDERATES CHARGE AGAIN, AND ONCE MORE, THE UNION TROOPS HOLD THEM OFF.

BUT BRIGADIER GENERAL SAMUEL B. MAXEY ORDERED A THIRD ATTACK.

THE UNION TROOPS COULDN'T HOLD ANYMORE.

THE 1st KANSAS STARTED TO BREAK UP, AND THEY FELL BACK TOWARD THE REAR OF THE WAGON TRAIN.

THIS AREA RIGHT HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED WITH DEAD AND DYING MEN HIT BY CANNON FIRE, RIFLE FIRE.

WE ARE STANDING ON HALLOWED GROUND.

THE UNION SOLDIERS RETREAT THROUGH A SWAMP JUST PAST THESE WOODS.

AND THE SURVIVORS REACH CAMDEN THAT NIGHT.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOUNDED WHO WERE LEFT HERE?

FOR THE 1st KANSAS COLORED INFANTRY, THE REAL NIGHTMARE BEGAN AFTER THE BATTLE.

MARK SAYS THE 29th TEXAS CAVALRY AND THE INDIAN BRIGADE ENACTED VENGEANCE UPON THE 1st KANSAS COLORED INFANTRY AS PAYBACK FOR A BATTLE THEY'D LOST THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

AND SOME OF THE ARKANSAS TROOPS KNEW SEVERAL OF THE 1st COLORED KANSAS INFANTRY FROM WHEN THEY WERE SLAVES.

AS THE CONFEDERATES APPROACHED THROUGH THE BATTLEFIELD, THEY SHOT ANY WOUNDED MEN THAT THEY SAW.

IF YOU WERE AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIER WOUNDED, IT WAS VERY UNLIKELY YOU WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THIS BATTLEFIELD.

THE PECK LETTER REFERENCES JOHN BEING WOUNDED AND TAKEN PRISONER.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM THEN?

AS A WHITE WOUNDED SOLDIER, HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN PICKED UP ALONG WITH THE CONFEDERATE WOUNDED AND TAKEN TO A BUILDING SOMEWHERE IN THE AREA THAT WOULD HAVE SERVED AS A HOSPITAL.

MARK SAYS HE'S BROUGHT SOME AFTER ACTION REPORTS.

THEY'RE FILLED OUT BY OFFICERS AFTER A MILITARY ENGAGEMENT.

FIRST, WE HAVE A REPORT FROM A LIEUTENANT BARNETT MITCHELL, WHO IS IN COMMAND OF THE 2nd KANSAS CAVALRY.

HE HAS A LIST OF HIS KILLED, WOUNDED, AND MISSING, AND AMONG THE MISSING IS... - JOHN BLACKFORD.

- YES.

NOW, CHECK OUT THE NEXT ONE.

THEN MARK SHOWS ME ONE MORE GROUP OF DOCUMENTS.

IT'S A DETAIL ABOUT JOHN BLACKFORD THAT I'M EAGER TO SHOW THE CAMPBELLS.

THIS IS A COPY OF HIS ENLISTMENT.

AND IT TELLS YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO HE WAS.

HE WAS 18 YEARS OF AGE WHEN HE ENLISTED, AND HE WAS A BLACKSMITH BY PROFESSION.

IS THAT RIGHT?

THEN I TELL THE CAMPBELLS I TRACKED JOHN TO THE BATTLE AMOS PECK WROTE ABOUT AND I SHOW THEM THE REPORT FROM JOHN'S OFFICER.

AND HERE WHERE HE LISTS SOME OF THE MISSING IS JOHN BLACKFORD, COMPANY H. NOW, THIS NEXT DOCUMENT WAS A DOCUMENT THAT THEN ANSWERED THE QUESTION.

MUSTER ROLL FOR JOHN E. BLACKFORD, DATED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER, 1864.

BUT HERE HE'S LISTED AS KILLED IN ACTION AT POISON SPRINGS.

WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE DIFFERENT REPORTS?

THEY JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO JOHN.

MARK EXPLAINS THAT RECORDS WERE ONLY CHANGED FROM MISSING TO KILLED WHEN SOMEONE REPORTED SEEING THE DEATH.

WE HAVE TO ASSUME THAT HE DIED OF HIS WOUNDS AND THE CONFEDERATES THEN NOTIFIED THE FEDERALS THAT HE HAD PASSED AWAY, AND HIS STATUS WAS CHANGED TO KILLED.

WELL, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THE RESULTS, BUT I'M SAD TO HEAR THE RESULTS OF THE STORY.

WE HOPED THAT BASED ON THIS LETTER THAT HE MIGHT HAVE SURVIVED THE WAR.

IT SEEMS LIKE HIS INTENTIONS WERE VERY ADMIRABLE AND KIND OF SUBSTANTIATED HIS SINCERITY ABOUT THE WHOLE THING, SO THAT'S PRETTY NEAT.

THE RED RIVER CAMPAIGN MARKED THE LAST DECISIVE CONFEDERATE VICTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR.

ON THE UNION SIDE, OVER 8,700 MEN WERE LOST, AND CRITICS BLAMED THE DIVERSION OF SOLDIERS, SUPPLIES,AND RESOURCES TO THIS WESTERN FRONT FOR PROLONGING THE END OF THE WAR.

THE DEFEAT LED TO A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION SPEARHEADED BY KANSAS SENATOR JAMES LANE.

ACCORDING TO NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS, LANE CALLED RED RIVER "THE MOST ILL-ADVISED AND FOOLISH MOVEMENT OF THE WAR."

SOMETIMES A HISTORY DETECTIVES STORY IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF AN INVESTIGATION.

IN SEASON EIGHT, APRIL HYNES ASKED US ABOUT AN AFRICAN-INSPIRED FACE JUG HER GRANDFATHER UNEARTHED IN PHILADELPHIA.

GWEN LEARNED THAT ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS WOULD BURY THE JUGS NEAR THEIR HOMES TO WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS.

SHE ALSO IDENTIFIED THE POTTERY MILL IN EDGEFIELD, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHERE OUR JUG WAS MADE AND LOCATED A NEARLY IDENTICAL JUG CREATED AT THE SAME SITE.

[ gasps ] OH, MY WORD.

BUT THE STORY DIDN'T END THERE.

APRIL WAS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT HOW HER JUG TRAVELED 700 MILES NORTH FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.

SHE STARTED BY SCOURING THE PROPERTY RECORDS OF THE PHILADELPHIA SITE WHERE IT WAS BURIED.

SHE DISCOVERED THAT A TENANT IN 1923 HAD AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHAUFFEUR NAMED LEWIS GARDENHIRE.

THE TRAIL LED TO EDGEFIELD, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHERE OUR JUG WAS MADE.

APRIL UNCOVERED EVIDENCE CONNECTING GARDENHIRE'S ANCESTORS TO THE WANDERER, A SLAVE SHIP MANY BELIEVE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN TRANSPORTING THE FACE JUG TRADITION FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA.

IN AUGUST OF 2010, APRIL HOSTED A REUNION FOR GARDENHIRE'S DESCENDANTS, DRAWING FAMILY FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THE FACE JUG IS NOW ON PERMANENT DISPLAY AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART.

IT'S SINCE BEEN NICKNAMED "LEWIS."

Tukufu: OUR NEXT CASE INVESTIGATES A FRAGMENT OF FABRIC.

WHAT WILL IT REVEAL ABOUT TWO AVIATION PIONEERS?

IN THE EARLY LIGHT OF MAY 20, 1927, CHARLES LINDBERGH'S SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS CLEARS THE TELEGRAPH WIRES AT ROOSEVELT FIELD ON LONG ISLAND.

33 1/2 HOURS LATER, WHEN HE LANDS IN PARIS, THE YOUNG AVIATOR HAS FLOWN INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS, FIRST TO FLY SOLO NONSTOP ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER FLYER IS ALSO LABORING IN OBSCURITY ON LONG ISLAND.

THIS RUSSIAN 䴡IGR‡ IS DESTINED TO HAVE AN EQUALLY LARGE IMPACT ON AVIATION HISTORY.

BUT WHAT WAS IT THAT BROUGHT THESE TWO MEN TOGETHER?

NOW A MAN FROM STAUNTON, VIRGINIA, THINKS HE MAY HAVE AN ARTIFACT THAT MARKS A LITTLE KNOWN COLLABORATION FROM EARLY AVIATION.

MY DAD SHOWED ME THIS AS A YOUNG TEENAGER, AND I'VE WANTED TO KNOW EVER SINCE EXACTLY WHAT THE STORY WAS.

I'M MEETING JIMMY PATTERSON TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS OBJECT PASSED FROM FATHER TO SON.

- HEY, HOW YOU DOING?

- HELLO.

I'VE GOT A PIECE OF FABRIC HAND-SIGNED BY CHARLES LINDBERGH AND IGOR SIKORSKY DATED AUGUST 1943 THAT MY DAD SHOWED ME WHEN I WAS AN EARLY TEENAGER.

I HAVE A SUSPICION THAT THIS FABRIC COULD HAVE COME OUT OFTHE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

SO WHO IS THIS SIKORSKY GUY?

HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HELICOPTER.

SO HOW DID YOUR FATHER COME INTO POSSESSION OF THIS PIECE OF FABRIC?

THIS WAS GIVEN TO MY FATHER BY CHARLES LINDBERGH.

YOUR FATHER KNEW CHARLES LINDBERGH?

YES, HE DID.

AND WHERE WAS YOUR FATHER WHEN HE GAVE HIM THIS PIECE OF FABRIC?

I FEEL LIKE HE WAS WORKING FOR AN AIRCRAFT PLANT IN CONNECTICUT.

JIMMY WAS A TEENAGER WHEN HIS FATHER, A FORMER STATE POLICE OFFICER, DIED.

AND HE DOESN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING DURING THE WAR.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY CHARLES LINDBERGH, IF THAT'S HIS SIGNATURE, AND IGOR SIKORSKY, IF THAT'S HIS SIGNATURE, WOULD BE SIGNING THIS -- THEORETICALLY -- ON AUGUST 1943?

I WANT YOU TO TELL ME WHY.

[ laughs ] I WANT YOU TO FIND OUT IF THE SIGNATURES ARE AUTHENTIC, AND THEN DID IT ACTUALLY IN FACT COME OUT OF THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

[ ♪♪♪ ] OKAY, FIRST LET'S GET INTO THIS PIECE OF FABRIC.

THIS GLUE WAS HOLDING IT IN PLACE, AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY THE FABRIC IS STIFF.

AT THE TOP WE HAVE "C.A.

LINDBERGH, AUG.," SO AUGUST 1943.

NOW, I'VE DONE SOME INVESTIGATIONS THAT INVOLVED LINDBERGH.

FIRST OF ALL, THAT FLIGHT HAPPENED IN 1927, NOT 1943, SO I REALLY HAVE MY DOUBTS THAT THIS IS A PIECE OFTHE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

ALSO, MY COLLEAGUE ELYSE LURAY HAS DONE A COUPLE OF STORIES WHICH INVOLVED FABRIC THAT WAS USED ON AIRPLANES, SO IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR THIS TYPE OF FABRIC TO HAVE BEEN USED ON AIRPLANES.

AND DOWN HERE WRITTEN VERY LIGHTLY, SO FAINT WE CAN BARELY DISCERN WHAT IT IS, WE HAVE "IGOR SIKORSKY."

I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SIKORSKY, BUT FIRST I'M GOING TO MEET AN OLD FRIEND OF HISTORY DETECTIVES.

JOHN REZNIKOFF IS PRESIDENT OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES IN WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT.

HE'S AN EXPERT ON SIGNATURES AND HAS HELPED ON PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS.

HE SAYS HE HAS SOME ITEMS THAT MIGHT HELP ON THIS ONE.

I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF LINDBERGH ITEMS, INCLUDING A PIECE OF THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS, AUTHENTICATED BY CHARLES LINDBERGH HIMSELF.

OKAY.

AND THIS IS A LETTER THAT HE WROTE SOME YEARS LATER, IN 1935.

LET'S SEE WHAT WE'VE GOT.

YEAH.

HERE ARE MY SIGNATURES.

CAN YOU TELL ME IF THESE ARE AUTHENTIC?

WELL, I'VE STUDIED LINDBERGH'S SIGNATURE AND I'VE HAD A LOT OF AUTOGRAPHS FROM HIM.

JOHN SHOWS ME THE 1928 LETTER, BUT SOMETHING SEEMS A LITTLE OFF.

IN THE LATE '20s, HIS SIGNATURE WAS TALL AND ELONGATED AND VERY STRINGY.

JOHN SAYS LINDBERGH'S WRITING STYLE EVOLVED.

HIS SIGNATURE CHANGED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.

HE SHOWS ME A SIGNATURE FROM 1935.

YOU CAN SEE HOW THE SIGNATURE GETS A LITTLE MORE CRAMPED AND HE DOESN'T START TO GET HIS D AND B SHORT UNTIL THE MID-'30s, AND SO HE'S GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THIS.

LOOK AT THAT LITTLE UNUSUAL LOOP AT THE TOP OF THE C THAT MATCHES EXACTLY WITH THIS ONE, THE WAY THE L CROSSES THE NEXT LETTER RIGHT HERE.

I'D SAY THIS IS 100% AN AUTHENTIC SIGNATURE OF CHARLES LINDBERGH.

CAN YOU AUTHENTICATE THAT THIS IS IGOR SIKORSKY'S SIGNATURE AS WELL?

JOHN'S SEEN SIKORSKY'S SIGNATURE BEFORE, AND HE THINKS WE MAY HAVE THE REAL THING.

BUT I DON'T HAVE AN ORIGINAL EXAMPLE HERE, AND I'D HAVE TO HAVE THAT IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THAT IT DEFINITELY IS SIKORSKY.

WAS CHARLES LINDBERGH STILL SIGNING PIECES OF THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS IN AUGUST OF 1943?

MOST LIKELY NOT.

WHEN THEY RENOVATED THE PLANE FOR INCLUSION IN THE SMITHSONIAN IN 1928, THEY TOOK CERTAIN PARTS OF IT OFF AND PUT NEW PARTS ON AND SOMEBODY HAD THE FORETHOUGHT TO SAVE SOME OF THE MATERIAL, AND THAT MATERIAL BECAME A SOUVENIR THAT WAS HIGHLY COVETED.

AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING THAT COMES AFTER 1930 THAT IS INDEED FROM THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

JOHN VOLUNTEERS TO COMPARE OUR FABRIC WITH A KNOWN SWATCH FROM THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

THIS IS CALLED A PROSCOPE.

THIS HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL CAMERA TAKES A PICTURE OF JIMMY'S FABRIC MAGNIFIED BY A POWER OF 30.

NEXT, HE TAKES A PICTURE OF THE FABRIC FROM THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

HERE IS THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS FABRIC.

MM-HMM.

AND HERE IS YOUR FABRIC.

AND LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE.

THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS APPEARS TO ME TO BE MUCH HIGHER QUALITY.

THERE'S VIRTUALLY NO DAYLIGHT IN BETWEEN THE STITCHES, AND I WOULD SAY DEFINITIVELY IT DID NOT COME FROM THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

JOHN THINKS OUR FABRIC DID COME FROM AN AIRCRAFT, BUT HE HAS NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH ONE.

SO WAS CHARLES LINDBERGH STILL WORKING ON AIRCRAFT AROUND THIS TIME?

I KNOW THAT LINDBERGH WORKED ON A LOT OF PLANES.

AT FIRST, LINDBERGH WAS CONTROVERSIALLY OUTSPOKEN AGAINST THE WAR.

BUT AFTER PEARL HARBOR, HE FOUND A WAY TO SERVE HIS COUNTRY.

BY 1943, LINDBERGH WAS IN DEMAND CONSULTING ON VARIOUS WORLD WAR II AVIATION PROJECTS.

HE WAS A TEST PILOT AND HE WAS VERY INVOLVED IN THE WAR EFFORT.

I NEED TO RUN DOWN SOME MORE INFORMATION ON SIKORSKY AND HOW THE TWO MEN MAY HAVE MET OR WORKED TOGETHER.

IN THE EARLY 1900s, THE RUSSIAN-BORN SIKORSKY WAS AN AIRCRAFT DESIGNER FOR CZAR NICHOLAS BUT HAD TO FLEE THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION.

SO HE ARRIVES IN 1919 AT ELLIS ISLAND, AND THIS IS THE REASON HE GIVES FOR MIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES: "TO SEEK EMPLOYMENT AS A DESIGNER AND CONSTRUCTOR OF LARGE AIRCRAFT."

AS WORLD WAR II IGNITED, SIKORSKY WAS ATTEMPTING TO BUILD A DIRECT-LIFT CRAFT, OR HELICOPTER.

HE CALLS HIS THE VS-300.

BUT SIKORSKY HAS COMPETITION.

THE FRENCH AND GERMANS ARE MAKING PROGRESS ON THEIR OWN CRAFT.

THE HELICOPTER'S WARTIME VALUE WOULD BE IN ITS ABILITY TO LIFT DIRECTLY FROM SHIPS AND BATTLEFIELDS.

"IGOR SIKORSKY GREATLY ADMIRED HIS CLOSE FRIEND HENRY FORD."

THIS IS INTERESTING.

HERE'S SOMETHING FROM A BIOGRAPHY ON SIKORSKY.

"IN A CONVERSATION WITH CHARLES LINDBERGH, "SIKORSKY MENTIONED THAT HE WOULD BE HONORED "IF HENRY FORD WOULD ALLOW HIM TO DONATE THE VS-300A "TO THE MUSEUM AT THE EDISON INSTITUTE IN DEARBORN, MICHIGAN."

IT'S A CONNECTION BETWEEN LINDBERGH, SIKORSKY, AND HENRY FORD.

BOB CASEY IS THE CURATOR OF TRANSPORTATION AT THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM AND AN AUTHORITY ON EARLY AVIATION.

NOW, THIS IS THE PIECE OF CLOTH THAT I'M INVESTIGATING.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT HAS A SIGNATURE, CHARLES LINDBERGH AND IGOR SIKORSKY, AUGUST 1943.

NOW, APPARENTLY, THESE GUYS HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH HENRY FORD.

I'VE GOT A PHOTOGRAPH THAT SHOWS SOME OF THAT RELATIONSHIP.

THIS IS IGOR SIKORSKY'S HELICOPTER.

HE'S DONATING IT TO HENRY FORD'S MUSEUM, - TO OUR MUSEUM.

- OKAY.

THERE'S IGOR SIKORSKY, THERE'S HENRY FORD, AND THERE'S CHARLES LINDBERGH.

ALL THREE OF THEM WERE FRIENDS, THEY KNEW ONE ANOTHER, AND YOU MIGHT SAY THEY FLEW IN THE SAME CIRCLES.

WHEN WAS THIS PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN?

THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN OCTOBER THE 6th, 1943.

THAT'S JUST TWO MONTHS AFTER THE DATE ON OUR FABRIC, WHEN THE HELICOPTER WAS DONATED TO THE MUSEUM.

SO THIS IS IT.

THIS IS IT, THIS IS SIKORSKY'S FIRST SUCCESSFUL HELICOPTER.

SO THIS IS MY PIECE OF FABRIC.

COULD IT HAVE COME FROM THIS AIRCRAFT?

CONCEIVABLY.

THIS AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN RE-COVERED TWICE SINCE IT'S BEEN IN OUR POSSESSION.

IT MIGHT HAVE COME FROM THIS AIRCRAFT, BUT THERE'S NO WAY FOR ME TO VERIFY THAT.

I DO HAVE SOMETHING, THOUGH, THAT MIGHT LEND A SENSE OF DIRECTION TO THIS.

BOB SAYS IN THE EARLY '40s, SIKORSKY WAS WORKING ON A MILITARY HELICOPTER, THE R-4, FOR A COMPANY CALLED UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION.

"SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT, DIVISION OF UNITED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AUGUST 16, 1943."

JIMMY SAID HIS FATHER WAS ALSO WORKING IN A CONNECTICUT AIRCRAFT PLANT AND THAT'S HOW HE GOT THE FABRIC.

AND IT IS SIGNED BY IGOR SIKORSKY.

THIS LETTER PLACES SIKORSKY IN CONNECTICUT IN THE MONTH AND YEAR ON JIMMY'S FABRIC, AND THE SIGNATURE SEEMS TO MATCH OURS.

NOW, DO YOU THINK LINDBERGH WAS ALSO IN BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, IN AUGUST 1943?

I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

I DO KNOW THAT HE WAS WORKING FOR UNITED AIRCRAFT, SO HE COULD HAVE BEEN IN CONNECTICUT IN AUGUST OF 1943, JUST DON'T KNOW FOR SURE.

[ ♪♪♪ ] SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT IS NOW HEADQUARTERED IN STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT.

SERGEI SIKORSKY IS FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF SPECIAL PROJECTS AND IGOR SIKORSKY'S SON.

WE MEET IN IGOR'S OFFICE, WHICH HAS BEEN KEPT JUST AS IT WAS WHEN HE DIED IN 1972.

IT EVEN INCLUDES THE FEDORA IGOR WORE WHEN HE FLEW HIS HELICOPTER.

CAN YOU RECOGNIZE THAT?

YES.

THAT DEFINITELY IS THE SIGNATURE OF IGOR SIKORKSY.

WHAT WAS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARLES LINDBERGH AND IGOR SIKORKSY?

A DEEP FRIENDSHIP, A MUTUAL RESPECT AND ADMIRATION.

THEY WERE CLOSE FRIENDS, AND LINDBERGH WAS VERY INTERESTED IN HIS FATHER'S HELICOPTER.

AND MY FATHER WOULD STAND THERE, LINDBERGH SITTING IN THE MACHINE, MY FATHER STANDING AND SORT OF ABOVE THE ENGINE NOISE, SHOUTING INSTRUCTIONS INTO LINDBERGH'S EAR.

LINDBERGH NODDED, WOULD TAKE OFF AND HOVER FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN LAND, AND THEN MY FATHER WOULD COME OVER AND SHOUT A FEW MORE INSTRUCTIONS.

I'M THINKING THAT THIS COULD HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN A PIECE OF THE VS-300.

IT IS TYPICAL OF THE FABRIC THAT WAS USED AT THAT TIME FOR THE VS-300, BUT I COULD NOT IDENTIFY IT POSITIVELY.

SERGEI SAYS WARTIME AVIATION PLANTS WERE ALIVE WITH ACTIVITY.

LINDBERGH FOLLOWED THE PROGRESS OF THE VS-300 AND CONSULTED ON TWO PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE U.S. NAVY.

ONE WAS A FIGHTER CALLED THE F4U CORSAIR.

THE OTHER WAS A PLANE MEANT TO PERFORM MUCH LIKE A HELICOPTER, CAPABLE OF QUICK LIFTOFFS AND SLOW FLYING SPEEDS.

OFFICIALLY CALLED THE V-173, IT WAS NICKNAMED "THE FLYING FLAPJACK," OR PANCAKE.

SERGEI SAYS BOTH AIRCRAFT INCLUDED SECTIONS OF FABRIC.

SO THIS FABRIC COULD HAVE COME FROM THE VS-300, IT COULD HAVE COME FROM THE CORSAIR, AND IT COULD HAVE COME FROM THE FLYING PANCAKE.

YES, IT COULD HAVE COME FROM ANY ONE OF THESE THINGS.

TRACKING DOWN COMPARISON SAMPLES WILL BE A CHALLENGE.

[ phone rings ] HISTORY DETECTIVES.

HOW YOU DOING?

OH, HI, TUKUFU.

I NEED YOU HELP ME OUT.

THREE SAMPLES.

THE VS-300,THE CORSAIR, AND THE FLYING PANCAKE.

BACK AT THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OFFICE, THE RESEARCH STAFF WORK THE PHONES.

RIGHT, IT'S A SIKORSKY.

IT TAKES SOME DOING, BUT EVENTUALLY I HAVE WHAT I NEED FOR ANOTHER VISIT TO JOHN REZNIKOFF.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE.

WELL, YOU KNOW, I KNEW WHERE TO COME.

OKAY, LET'S START WITH THIS.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL FABRIC FROM THE VS-300AHELICOPTER.

THIS BROWN COLORING ON THE BACK IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN THIS, OBVIOUSLY.

AND NOT ONLY IS THE WEAVE EVEN BY MY NAKED EYE DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S NOT A MATCH.

I DON'T THINK IT'S EVEN CLOSE.

IT'S NOT THE HELICOPTER.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CORSAIR FIGHTER?

I'M SEEING A PRETTY TIGHT WEAVE HERE, TOO.

IT LOOKS CLOSE.

LET'S SHOOT A SHOT OF IT.

JOHN DECIDES TO TEST FURTHER.

OKAY, HERE'S THE QUESTION PIECE SIGNED BY LINDBERGH.

IT'S ALMOST OCTAGONAL, THE AREAS THAT HAVE HOLES IN THEM, WHEREAS THIS IS VERY SQUARE.

SO I WOULD RULE THIS OUT ABSOLUTELY.

SO IT'S NOT THE CORSAIR.

NOPE.

OKAY, THAT'S TWO STRIKES.

AND SO THIS IS A PIECE OF THE FLYING PANCAKE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

ONE MORE CHANCE AT A MATCH.

HMM, THIS IS A POSSIBILITY, AND WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY.

WHAT JOHN DISCOVERS NEXT WILL CERTAINLY BE A SURPRISE TO JIMMY.

NOW, YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS DO YOU HAVE AUTHENTIC SIGNATURES FOR CHARLES LINDBERGH AND IGOR SIKORSKY.

AND MY ANSWER TO YOU IS WITHOUT A DOUBT.

AMAZING.

NOW, YOUR NEXT QUESTION WAS WAS THIS PIECE OF FABRIC FROM THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS.

AND WE WERE ABLE TO PROVE THAT IT WAS NOT.

ALL RIGHT, WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

SAME SIZE HOLES, YOU HAVE THE SMALL HOLE AND THE BIG HOLE.

MM-HMM.

THAT'S THE SAME MATERIAL.

SO OUR PIECE COMES FROM THE FLYING PANCAKE.

I THINK THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT AT THIS POINT.

WOW, AMAZING.

JUST TO KNOW THAT IT CAME FROM AN EARLY EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT, JUST KNOWING LINDBERGH HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.

I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL THAT I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE IT CAME FROM.

MIRED BY DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDING ISSUES, THE NAVY CANCELLED THE FLYING PANCAKE PROJECT IN 1947.

HOWEVER, SIKORSKY'S HELICOPTER DESIGN ACHIEVED GREAT MILITARY SUCCESS.

HE DEVELOPED HIS VS-300 INTO THE R-4, THE WORLD'S FIRST PRODUCTION HELICOPTER.

IN 1942, THE UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE SUCCESSFULLY TESTED THE R-4 IN BURMA AND ALASKA.

THEY SOON ORDERED 100.

THE R-4BECAME THE FIRST HELICOPTER TO EVER ENTER COMBAT.

Eduardo: THE U.S. MILITARY REACHED FAR AND WIDE IN THE WARTIME BATTLE FOR AIR SUPERIORITY.

IN 1943, THE UNITED STATES ARMY REQUESTED LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION TO DEVELOP THE FIRST UNITED STATES FIGHTER JET.

A HANDPICKED TEAM OF ENGINEERS DESIGNED AND BUILT THE XP-80 SHOOTING STAR PROTOTYPE IN ONLY 143 DAYS.

THE SECRETIVE TEAM WAS LATER NICKNAMED "SKUNK WORKS," A REFERENCE TO A HIDDEN LOCATION IN THE 1940s LI'L ABNER COMIC.

SKUNK WORKS TOOK ON THE MOST ADVANCED AND CLASSIFIED PROJECTS.

IN 1955, THEY DEVELOPED AND TEST-FLEW A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE.

THE U-2WOULD GO ON TO TAKE THE FAMED 1962 PHOTOS OF SOVIET NUCLEAR WARHEAD INSTALLATIONS THE SPARKED THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS.

IN 1964, SKUNK WORKS BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER THREE TIMES OVER WITH THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD, THE FIRST AIRCRAFT TO CRUISE AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF MACH 3.

WITH MOST OF THEIR PROJECTS SHADOWED IN SECRECY, THE F-117 NIGHTHAWKWAS REVEALED AS THE WORLD'S FIRST OPERATIONAL STEALTH FIGHTER IN 1988, SEVEN YEARS AFTER ITS FIRST FLIGHT.

SKUNK WORKS IS NOW A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF LOCKHEED MARTIN AND CONTINUES TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING.

Gwendolyn: OUR LAST CASE OPENS A COMIC BOOK WHICH MAY HAVE HELPED START A NEW CHAPTER IN POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT.

THE 1940s: THE POPULATION OF AMERICANS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 HITS A RECORD 45 MILLION, AND THEY'RE HUNGRY FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

YOUNG PEOPLE TURN TO A RECENT MASS MARKET PHENOMENON: COMIC BOOKS.

EIGHTY MILLION SELL EVERY WEEK, EACH PASSING FROM PERSON TO PERSON AN AVERAGE OF EIGHT TIMES, REACHING MORE PEOPLE THAN MOVIES, MAGAZINES, RADIO, OR TV.

THE COMICS ARE PACKED WITH FANTASTIC FICTIONS: SUPERHEROES AND VILLAINS, PURPLE PROSE AND BROKEN HEARTS.

BUT HOW DID ONE COMIC BOOK TRY A RADICALLY NEW APPROACH TO REACHING ITS AUDIENCE?

NOW GERALD EARLY, A COLLECTOR AND HISTORIAN FROM ST. LOUIS, HAS STUMBLED UPON A ROMANCE COMIC WITH SOME VERY UNUSUAL CHARACTERS.

LAST YEAR, GERALD HELPED US SOLVE A MYSTERY ABOUT A JACKIE ROBINSON SCORECARD.

THIS TIME HE'S IN NEW YORK WITH A QUESTION OF HIS OWN.

NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

LET ME TAKE THIS OUT FOR YOU.

I DON'T DO THIS FOR EVERYONE.

[ chuckles ] IT'S A COMIC BOOK FROM EARLY 1950.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE COMIC BOOK DOESN'T HAVE A COVER.

NEGROROMANCE, HUH.

SO WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS?

I'VE BEEN A BIG COMIC BOOK COLLECTOR, AND I BOUGHT IT ON AN AUCTION ONLINE.

WHAT WAS THE DESCRIPTION; WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS?

I WAS EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, I HARDLY EVER SAW BLACK PEOPLE IN A COMIC BOOK, AND TO SEE A WHOLE COMIC BOOK DEVOTED TO BLACK PEOPLE, I SAID, "I'VE GOT TO GET THIS."

I MEAN, TO ME, FOR SOMETHING IN 1950, THIS IS PRETTY SURPRISING.

WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS COMIC BOOK.

I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO FIND OUT WHO WROTE AND DREW THIS COMIC BOOK.

I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER IT WAS A BLACK OR WHITE ARTIST AND WRITERS WHO PUT THIS COMIC BOOK TOGETHER.

1950: I THINK IT'LL TELL US A LOT ABOUT THAT PERIOD OF TIME IN AMERICAN LIFE.

I THINK SO, TOO.

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE ROMANCE COMICS I READ IN THE 1950s EXCEPT THE CHARACTERS IN THESE PAGES ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN.

VERY ELEGANT LANGUAGE, ALTHOUGH A BIT OVER THE TOP: "MY MIND WAS A CAULDRON OF SEETHING ANXIETIES BENEATH A TENSE, MASKED FACE."

IT'S A CLASSIC TALE: YOUNG GIRL FALLS IN LOVE, LOSES HER MAN, CHANGES HER WAYS, AND GETS HER MAN BACK.

THIS IS A ROMANCE COMIC BOOK, BUT IT'S REALLY A MORALITY TALE TELLING WOMEN HOW THEY OUGHT TO BEHAVE.

SO IT'S PUBLISHED AUGUST 1950, VOL.

1, NO.

2, BY FAWCETT PUBLICATIONS IN GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT.

WELL, THE TITLE PAGE HAS THE NAMES OF THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND THE VARIOUS EDITORS BUT NO MENTION OF THE WRITER OR THE ARTIST.

[ ♪♪♪ ] LET'S SEE, I'LL TRY "NEGRO ROMANCE."

OH, THIS MUST BE THE COVER.

AND HERE'S OUR STORY, "POSSESSED."

LOOKS LIKE THERE WERE ONLY THREE ISSUES PUBLISHED.

OURS IS NUMBER TWO.

WELL, THERE'S NOT MUCH HERE OF ANY SUBSTANCE.

AND A SEARCH OF THE EDITORS DOESN'T HELP EITHER.

LET ME TRY FAWCETT, THE PUBLISHER.

FAWCETT WAS A MAJOR COMIC BOOK PUBLISHER DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMIC BOOKS IN THE '40s AND '50s.

THERE WAS A GENRE FOR EVERY AUDIENCE: SUPERHEROES, WAR STORIES, HORROR, ROMANCE.

NEARLY 650 TITLES PUBLISHED, 80 TO 100 MILLION COPIES SOLD EVERY WEEK.

COMICS WERE POPULAR CULTURE, AND FAWCETT WAS RIGHT IN THE THICK OF IT.

CAPTAIN MARVEL AND OTHER HEROES.

BUT THERE'S NO MENTION OF NEGRO ROMANCE.

I'M HEADING TO DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN TO THE MUSEUM OF COMIC AND CARTOON ART.

PROFESSOR WILLIAM FOSTER STUDIES HOW AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED IN COMICS AND POPULAR CULTURE.

WELL, I'M EAGER TO SHOW YOU THIS COPY OF NEGRO ROMANCE.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

THIS IS RARE BEYOND WORDS.

WELL, I REMEMBER READING COMIC BOOKS IN THE 1950s WHEN I WAS A KID, BUT I CAN'T RECALL ANY BLACK CHARACTERS.

WELL, IN COMIC BOOKS, THERE PROBABLY WERE VERY, VERY FEW.

MUCH LIKE THE ERA, BILL NOTES, COMIC BOOKS WERE A SEGREGATED WORLD.

MOST PUBLISHERS WERE WHITE, AND THEIR FEW REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE OFTEN UNFLATTERING AND DEMEANING.

THAT WAS FAIRLY TYPICAL FOR THE TIME.

WELL, THAT MAKES OUR COMIC BOOK UNUSUAL.

ABSOLUTELY.

HERE WE HAVE BLACK PEOPLE WHO ARE THIN, ATTRACTIVE, WELL DRESSED.

SO YOU SEE NONE OF THE TYPICAL IDEAS FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS -- THEIR HAIR, THEIR NOSES ARE QUITE THIN, TALKING ABOUT GOING TO COLLEGE, VERY MUCH THE MIDDLE CLASS DREAM.

THEORETICALLY, THEY COULD BE ANYBODY IF YOU CHANGE THEIR COLOR, WHICH IS MAYBE THE EXACT IDEA THEY WERE TRYING TO PROMOTE.

SO DO YOU THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY A BLACK WRITER AND ARTIST?

IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TELL, BECAUSE AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WRITERS AND ARTISTS WERE NOT CREDITED FOR THEIR WORK.

BILL EXPLAINS THAT COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS WORRIED THAT THEIR TALENT WOULD BE POACHED, SO THEY KEPT THESE NAMES ANONYMOUS.

BUT IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE THAT THE AUTHOR OR ARTIST WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN.

THIS IS ALL-NEGRO COMICS, 1947, CONSIDERED A LANDMARK WORK: THE FIRST COMIC BOOK THAT WE KNOW OF CREATED BY AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLISHER, WRITER, AND ARTIST, ORRIN EVANS.

EVANS WAS A LEADING BLACK NEWSPAPER REPORTER WHO CREATED ASPIRATIONAL BLACK CHARACTERS SUCH AS DETECTIVE ACE HARLEM.

HE SAID HIMSELF, "I GOT TIRED OF NEVER SEEING PEOPLE WHO LOOKED LIKE ME IN COMIC BOOKS."

BILL POINTS OUT THAT CHARACTERS IN EVANS'S COMICS HAVE DARKER SKIN TONE AND MORE TRADITIONALLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEATURES.

DO YOU THINK THAT EVANS COULD HAVE DONE THIS ONE?

I DON'T BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE ONLY BECAUSE I KNOW THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO HIM WAS TO CREATE HIS OWN COMPANY: ALL BLACK-OWNED, ALL BLACK IMAGES, GOING TO A BLACK AUDIENCE CREATED BY BLACK CREATORS.

BUT, BILL SAYS, OUR COMIC MAY TELL A SECOND STORY, A DEBATE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS ABOUT THE BEST STRATEGY FOR WINNING CIVIL RIGHTS.

I THINK THAT YOU PROBABLY HAD A NUMBER OF NEGRO LEADERS AT THE SAME TIME WHO WERE SAYING, "THIS IS HOW WE WILL MAKE IT INTO WHITE SOCIETY.

"THE MORE WE LOOK LIKE THE MAJORITY, THE MORE OUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS ARE."

AND THEN THERE WERE PEOPLE ON THE OTHER SIDE SAYING, "YOU KNOW WHAT, WE HAVE TO BE WHO WE ARE IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA."

WELL, WHO AT FAWCETT MIGHT HAVE CREATED THIS?

I'M GUESSING FOR FAWCETT THAT THEY HAD A NUMBER OF WHITE LIBERALS THAT WORKED FOR THE COMPANY AND DECIDED THAT HERE'S A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE, AND THESE ARE THE KIND OF BLACK PEOPLE THAT WHITE PEOPLE WOULD BE GLAD TO INVITE TO THEIR HOMES, INTO THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND THIS WOULD BE NOT THREATENING AT ALL.

ANY IDEAS ABOUT HOW I MIGHT FIND OUT WHO CREATED NEGRO ROMANCE?

I'D HAVE TO SAY, HONESTLY, I'M STUMPED.

YOU MIGHT TRY A ROMANCE COMICS EXPERT.

THEY WERE DOING A LOT OF ROMANCE COMICS FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES AROUND THE SAME TIME.

THEY MIGHT WELL KNOW WHO ACTUALLY PUT THIS TOGETHER.

I'VE COME TO BALTIMORE TO GEPPI'S ENTERTAINMENT MUSEUM, A GREAT RESOURCE FOR HISTORY DETECTIVES INVESTIGATIONS IN THE PAST.

JACQUE NODELL WRITES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ROMANCE COMIC BOOKS.

OH, WOW.

I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS IN REAL LIFE, SO IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE IT.

NOW, WERE THERE OTHER ROMANCE COMICS IN 1950?

ABSOLUTELY.

I HAVE A FEW.

OKAY, SO ROMANCE COMICS REALLY EXPLODED IN 1949.

AND HERE ARE JUST A FEW FROM VARIOUS COMPANIES, BUT MOST OF THE COMIC BOOK COMPANIES GOT IN ON SORT OF THE LOVE GAME.

HERE'S ONE THAT HAS A COVER THAT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THIS ONE'S.

IT IS.

EXCEPT THAT THEY'RE WHITE PEOPLE.

YEAH, AND ACTUALLY, THE REASON IS BECAUSE ROMANTIC STORY WAS ALSO PUBLISHED BY FAWCETT, AND FAWCETT WAS VERY KNOWN FOR THIS HAPPY COUPLE ON THEIR PHOTO COVERS.

ARE THE STORIES INSIDE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME?

VERY, VERY SIMILAR.

AND THESE ROMANCE COMICS FROM FAWCETT DEFINITELY MIRROR WHAT WAS GOING ON IN SOCIETY IN THE 1950s, THAT PUSH TOWARDS WOMEN LEAVING THE FACTORIES AFTER THE WAR AND GOING INTO DOMESTIC ROLES.

AND YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT MOST COMIC BOOKS, AND ROMANCE COMICS BOOKS INCLUDED, WERE WRITTEN BY MEN.

AND NEGRO ROMANCE JUST FITS IN RIGHT WITH THOSE.

JACQUE EXPLAINS HOW, FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II, THE ECONOMIC POWER OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY WAS GROWING.

COMICS WERE BIG MONEY, BIG BUSINESS.

FAWCETT WANTED TO GET INTO EVERY CORNER OF THE MARKET THEY COULD.

DO WE KNOW WHO CREATED THIS?

I DON'T.

THESE STORIES, THEY'RE UNSIGNED FOR THE MOST PART.

THE FRONT PAGE DOES LIST THE EDITORIAL STAFF, WHICH WE KNOW WERE WHITE, BUT AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL ARTIST, THE WRITER, I DON'T KNOW.

JACQUE SAID FAWCETT GOT OUT OF THE COMIC BUSINESS IN 1953, AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEES.

BUT HISTORIAN SHAUN CLANCY HAS SPENT THE LAST 15 YEARS TRACKING DOWN FORMER MEMBERS OF THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY.

WELL, AS I TOLD YOU, I HAVE A COPY OF NEGRO ROMANCE.

I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN THE INSIDE OF ONE OF THESE.

EVERY COPY I'VE EVER SEEN HAS BEEN ENCASED IN PLASTIC.

SHAUN'S LOCATED A PRIVATE COLLECTOR WITH ALL THREE ISSUES.

HOW MANY OF THESE ARE AROUND TODAY, DO YOU KNOW?

PROBABLY LESS THAN 10 KNOWN COPIES OF EACH.

IT'S A ROMANCE LINE THAT FAWCETT WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH.

THIS WASN'T FAWCETT'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT EXPERIMENTING WITH AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHARACTERS.

SHAUN SAYS THAT IN 1942, THEY ADDED A NEW CHARACTER TO THEIR BESTSELLING CAPTAIN MARVEL COMIC, A VALET, STEAMBOAT, BUT IT WENT HORRIBLY WRONG.

WELL, THAT'S A VERY DEROGATORY STEREOTYPE.

YES, IN FACT, THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY PROTESTED THE CHARACTER AND ACTUALLY WENT TO THE FAWCETT OFFICES IN NEW YORK AND GOT THE ATTENTION OF THE EDITOR.

WILL LIEBERSON WAS THE EDITOR IN CHARGE AT THAT TIME.

HE LISTENED TO THEIR CONCERNS.

HE HIMSELF BEING JEWISH WAS SENSITIVE TO STEREOTYPING AND THAT HE WOULD DO WHAT HE COULD TO ELIMINATE THAT CHARACTER.

IN 1945, THE STEAMBOAT CHARACTER WAS DROPPED.

AND AS TIMES CHANGED, SO DID FAWCETT.

IN 1950, THEY INTRODUCED NEGRO ROMANCE WITH VERY DIFFERENT AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHARACTERS.

I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING NEGRO ROMANCE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE TITLE PAGE HERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE EDITOR IS ROY ALD, AND ROY ALD IS STILL WITH US.

HE'S 90 YEARS OLD, AND I'VE SPOKEN TO HIM.

HE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE ROMANCE LINE IN GENERAL AT FAWCETT, AND HE WAS LOOKING TO EXPAND INTO THE ROMANCE MARKET BECAUSE IT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL.

AND SO HE CAME OUT WITH THE THREE ISSUES YOU SEE HERE.

WHAT WAS THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS?

WHAT WAS THE RUN FOR THESE?

AT THE TIME OF PRINTING, THERE WAS PROBABLY 100,000 COPIES OF EACH.

TODAY'S COMIC RUNS WOULD ENVY THAT TYPE OF PRINT RUN.

WELL, WHO WAS THE WRITER?

WELL, ROY ALD.

ROY CREATED PEN NAMES AND BASICALLY DOUBLE DIPPED.

AND IF HE COULD DRAW, HE'D PROBABLY DO THREE THINGS, HE'D TRIPLE DIP.

DO YOU KNOW WHO WAS THE ARTIST?

ACTUALLY, HE DID MENTION THAT NAME.

WHAT SHAUN TELLS ME NEXT HELPS CLOSE MY INVESTIGATION.

THIS ENDED UP BEING AN INTERESTING AND VERY SURPRISING STORY.

THIS WAS AN EXPERIMENT IN ROMANCE COMICS.

WOW.

I HAVE THE COVER OF THIS ISSUE.

AHA.

WOW, A VERY FINE YOUNG COUPLE, YES.

THE REAL EXCITEMENT IS IN YOUR QUESTION.

OH, OKAY.

THE WRITER WAS AN EDITOR AT FAWCETT, A MAN NAMED ROY ALD.

WAS HE AFRICAN AMERICAN OR WHITE?

HE WAS WHITE.

OKAY.

HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THIS AND BELIEVED THERE WAS A MARKET.

BUT WHAT'S REALLY EXCITING IS THE ARTIST.

HIS NAME WAS ALVIN HOLLINGSWORTH.

AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM?

ALVIN HOLLINGSWORTH WAS A YOUNG BLACK MAN.

HE WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN HE WAS COMING BY THE FAWCETT OFFICES.

HE WAS A GOPHER TYPE PERSON: HE WAS DOING TOUCH-UPS AND PASTE-UPS AND DOING GENERAL ERRANDS AROUND THE OFFICE.

AND HE AND ROY ALD HIT IT OFF VERY WELL, AND ROY REALLY LIKED ALVIN HOLLINGSWORTH.

AND WHEN HE CREATED THE NEGRO ROMANCE LINE, HE THOUGHT THIS WAS THE PERFECT FIT FOR HIM.

MY GOODNESS, THAT IS REALLY SOMETHING.

OH, MAN.

I HADN'T EXPECTED THAT AT ALL.

I HONESTLY THOUGHT THAT PROBABLY THE ARTIST WAS WHITE, SO THIS IS REALLY QUITE A SURPRISE TO LEARN THIS.

AND HERE IS ALVIN HOLLINGSWORTH AT ABOUT AGE 40.

HE WAS THE FIRST BLACK ARTIST HIRED BY THIS COMPANY.

I EXPLAIN HOW HIS COMIC BOOK TOLD A STORY ABOUT SOCIETY AND THE ECONOMY CHANGING PROFOUNDLY AFTER WORLD WAR II.

I'M BLOWN AWAY TO LEARN THAT.

BOY, THIS IS REALLY A GENUINE ARTIFACT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIFE AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE TO KNOW THAT.

THAT'S QUITE A STORY.

ALVIN HOLLINGSWORTH STAYED IN COMICS UNTIL 1955.

IN THE 1960s, HIS EARLY PAINTINGS FOCUSED ON CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES.

HE THEN WENT ON TO HAVE A MAJOR CAREER AS AN ABSTRACT ARTIST WHOSE WORK WAS SHOWN IN MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES AROUND THE WORLD.

HOLLINGSWORTH DIED IN 2000.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THIS RARE COMIC BOOK IN DETAIL, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

EVERY SEASON, VIEWERS ASK HOW, WHEN, AND WHY WE USE GLOVES IN OUR INVESTIGATIONS.

AS AN APPRAISER WHO HANDLES VALUABLE AND DELICATE OBJECTS ALL THE TIME, THIS SUBJECT IS IMPORTANT TO ME.

SO I WANTED TO EXPLAIN OUR POLICY ON TO GLOVE OR NOT TO GLOVE.

FIRST, IT'S IMPORTANT TO STRESS THAT EACH INSTITUTION HAS ITS OWN GUIDELINES, AND RULES VARY.

WHEN WE MEET WITH EXPERTS AND ORGANIZATIONS DURING AN INVESTIGATION, WE ALWAYS RESPECT THE RULES OF THE HOUSE, WHICH IS WHY SOMETIMES YOU SEE DETECTIVES WEARING GLOVES AND SOMETIMES NOT.

BUT POLICIES ABOUT GLOVES DON'T JUST DIFFER FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER BUT FROM ONE KIND OF OBJECT TO ANOTHER.

MOST PRESERVATIONISTS AGREE FOR PHOTOGRAPHS, GLOVES ARE KEY TO AVOID DAMAGE, SINCE FINGERS CAN LEAVE PRINTS ON LIGHT-SENSITIVE MATERIAL.

BUT OPINIONS ON PAPER ARTIFACTS DIFFER.

MANY ARCHIVISTS AND PRESERVATIONISTS BELIEVE THAT HANDLING AGED BOOKS OR FRAGILE DOCUMENTS REQUIRES SUCH A LIGHT TOUCH THAT GLOVES CAN DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

IT OFTEN COMES DOWN TO AN ISSUE OF MINIMAL VERSUS MASS TOUCHING OF AN ARTIFACT.

DURING AN INVESTIGATION, WE STRIVE TO HANDLE AN OBJECT AS CAREFULLY AS POSSIBLE AND NO MORE THAN IS NEEDED TO LEARN INFORMATION.

IN THE END, OUR GOAL IS TO RESPECT AND PROTECT THESE AMAZING ARTIFACTS SO THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS CAN ENJOY THEIR STORIES.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ASK A QUESTION, VISIT US ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

LET YOUR MYSTERY UNLOCK AMERICAN HISTORY.

YOU KNOW, AT HISTORY DETECTIVES, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THAT NEXT GREAT CASE, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

THE CRITERIA IS SIMPLE.

THE MYSTERY MUST BE CONNECTED TO AN OBJECT.

[ playing quick, random notes ] AND THE OBJECT HAS TO BE TIED TO AMERICAN HISTORY.

TO SUBMIT YOUR CASE, GO TO HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org, THEN CLICK "SUBMIT YOUR STORY."