“It is hard to believe that Southern soldiers—and Texans at that—have been whipped by a mongrel crew of white and black Yankees … there must be some mistake.”This is the story of Black Soldiers in the Civil War.Black patriots are ready to fight from day one. The Lincoln Administration and Congress, however, are not ready to have them. They fear losing the su ... Show More
Nov 2
215: D-Day, Part II: June 6, 1944
“The only men on this beach are the dead and those that are going to die––now let’s get the hell out of here!”This is the story of D-Day, June 6, 1944. In the early hours of the morning, airborne troops land behind enemy lines in Normandy, France, fighting to secure towns, bridge ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 19
214: D-Day, Part I: From the First Quebec Conference to June 5, 1944
“Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade.”This is the story of the preparations for D-Day. In November, 1943 the “Big Three”–that is, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin–meet in person fo ... Show More
1 h
Feb 2025
Buffalo Soldiers | The Brass Letters | 1
In the spring of 1865, with the Civil War finally over, American lawmakers began to debate whether Black soldiers would have a permanent place in the peacetime Army. Some 180,000 Black men had fought in the Union ranks, but never before in the nation’s history had they been allow ... Show More
38m 35s
Sep 2022
Civil War | Finding Freedom | 8
During the Civil War, Black people in America took the opportunity to free themselves and to serve the Union cause. At great personal risk, tens of thousands of refugees -- men, women and children -- fled Southern slave owners for Union lines. They enlisted in the Union Army and ... Show More
36m 32s
Oct 2018
Civil Rights - New World A’Comin | 1
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing the slaves in much of the South. But the road to freedom—true freedom—would take generations longer for most black Americans.In this new six-part series, we investigate their struggle, begi ... Show More
38m 5s
Dec 2021
How Lincoln Almost Lost it All
December 11, 1862. Union Army engineers are urgently constructing a bridge, one that will carry soldiers into the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, a Confederate stronghold. Union leaders are banking on the element of surprise and are desperate for a victory. But, by the time it’ ... Show More
32m 56s
Feb 2021
General Robert E Lee: US Civil War rebel
The US Civil War of 1861-65 left 700,000 troops dead. The Southern Confederate states rebelled against the Union of the North because the Confederates wanted to protect the right to own slaves. The hero of the rebel cause, General Robert E Lee, was charged with treason and had hi ... Show More
12m 28s
Jan 2025
Deborah Willis, "The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship" (NYU Press, 2021)
Photography emerged in the 1840s in the United States, and it became a visual medium that documents the harsh realities of enslavement. Similarly, the photography culture grew during the Civil War, and it became an important material that archived this unprecedented war. Deborah ... Show More
1h 23m