DETECTIVE WES COWAN

All the stories below feature the History Detective Wes Cowan. Just click on one of the links below to go to the story or go back to the Archive.

3D Cuban Missile Crisis

Did this portable projection screen help save the Free World? ...More

Anti-Slavery Flag

What two Michigan brothers believed was an old sheet in a family trunk may have contributed to the end of slavery in America...More

Boarding House Flag 108

A historical society wants to know, did this flag once save a boarding house from being burnt down?...More

Bonnie & Clyde Bullets 102

Could five .45 caliber bullets owned by a woman in a small Wisconsin town be responsible for the demise of the notorious Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow?...More

Bonus Army Stamp

Is this stamp connected to a moment when the U.S. Army advanced with fixed bayonets against fellow soldiers in the nation’s capital? ...More

Camp David Letter

Could a box found in a dumpster hold information about the founding of a top-secret Presidential retreat? ...More

Cast Iron Eagle

Did this 12-foot-high eagle once grace the old Grand Central Station in Manhattan? ...More

Cemetary Alarm

Was this explosive device used to stop a morbid black market trade?...More

Charlie Parker's Saxophone

A woman owns a beautiful old alto saxophone that belonged to her father and according to family legend was once owned by the legendary jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker...More

Chinese Poems

In the first half of the 20th century, nearly 250,000 Chinese immigrants attempted to enter the United States...More

Civil War Balloon

A collector may have purchased a fragment of American aviation history. At first glance, it's a simple piece of frayed material in a frame...More

Cleveland Electric Car

A Cleveland man with a passion for trains has long wondered about an electric street car in his city’s transit museum...More

Confederate Eyeglass

A contributor in Terre Haute, Indiana has a tiny brass eyeglass that, when peered through, reveals an image of Confederate president Jefferson Davis...More

Doc Holliday's Watch

Four years ago, a pawn store clerk in Tulsa, Oklahoma, met a customer claiming to be a descendant of John Henry "Doc" Holliday...More

Ernie Pyle's Typewriter

Did America’s most beloved battlefront correspondent bang out his dispatches on this Corona 3?...More

Flint Lock Rifle

Mercer County Historical Society has in its possession a late 18th century flint-lock rifle, which, according to local lore, once belonged to legendary Tory bandit Moses Doan, and was recovered after he was killed in a raid of his hideout in 1783...More

General Lee Farewell Address

In the archives of a gentleman's club in this rural town is what is believed to be a signed copy of one of the most famous documents in the history of the Civil War - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's farewell address, "General Order #9," composed at Appomattox, Virginia, upon the surrender of his troops in April 1865...More

George Washington Miniature

Did the artist paint this portrait of Washington from life, and what is its surprising connection to the abolitionist White Matlack?...More

George Washington Portrait

Could a portrait passed down through a Frederick, Maryland family actually be an authentic portrait of the nation's first president, George Washington?...More

Goering Gun

In the dying days of the Third Reich, Hermann Goering, the former head of the mighty German Luftwaffe, was holed up in his castle in the German countryside, addicted to opium and terrified of capture by the advancing Allies...More

Great Mexican War Posters

Is this an advertisement for a film made by an eyewitness to the Mexican Revolution?...More

Jefferson Pledge

Did the transformation of the nation's public education system begin with this $200 pledge? ...More

Jigsaw Puzzle

Were women playing contact sports in the late part of the 19th century?...More

Jim Thorpe Ticket

A pair of sports tickets from 1927 are discovered in a used book...More

John Hunt Morgan Saddle

A man in Paris, Kentucky, owns a beautifully preserved, Western-style saddle, believed to have been used by the Confederate general, John Hunt Morgan, on his famous raid into Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in July 1863...More

King Kong Camera

A Washington resident owns an old movie camera he believes could have been used to film the original version of 'King Kong'...More

Lawrence Billy Club

Could this billy club with the words “Lawrence Strike” and the date 12/1/1912 really have been used in the famous Bread and Roses labor strike?...More

Lewis and Clark Cane

A Minnesota man has an old wooden cane that has been in his family for as long as he can remember...More

Lincoln Forgery

Could this piece of sheet music have come from Abraham Lincoln's private collection? ...More

Little Big Horn Bayonet

The family home of the famous military hero General Edward Godfrey holds a surprising secret...More

Long Expedition

An Omaha, Nebraska, resident holds land along the Missouri River, where archaeologists are currently digging an encampment from the "Long Expedition."..More

Mark Twain Watch

An Oregon man, Jack Ainsworth Mills, has a watch that may have been a gift to his grandfather from noted American author, Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain...More

Manhattan Project Letter

Did this letter help persuade President Harry S. Truman to change policy in the post war era? ...More

Manhattan Project Patent

Could this drawing have been part of America's secret plans to fuel the atomic bomb?...More

Mankato Spoon

What does this delicate silver spoon have to do with the largest mass execution in American history?...More

McKinley Casket Flag

A Battle Ground, WA man has a flag which he claims once draped the casket of U.S. President William McKinley...More

Mouse Toy

Popular history has it that Mickey Mouse was born from a drawing sketched on a napkin by Walt Disney during a train ride from New York to Los Angeles in 1928...More

Mussolini's Dagger

Did a World War II GI return home with Mussolini's dagger?...More

Napoleon's Sword

A magnificent sword that has been handed down for generations in a St. Martinville family has a mystery around it...More

Old Fire Station

Did President Ulysses S. Grant stop by a Morristown, New Jersey, firehouse on the centennial of America?...More

Pirate Spyglass

Jean Lafitte was a fearsome pirate, an ingenious privateer, and a war hero...More

"Pretty Boy" Floyd's Gun

A man owns a vintage Colt automatic handgun, which family legend suggests once belonged to the Depression-era desperado, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd...More

Red Cloud's Peace Pipe

Was this pipe given to a Californian woman's ancestor by the famous warrior Chief Red Cloud?...More

Snowshoe's Mailbag

While browsing through a Montana antique store, a resident of Modesto, California, discovered an unusual leather satchel...More

Superman Sketch

An Ohio woman has an intriguing drawing that she discovered in the attic of her home. It is an undated sketch of the cartoon hero Superman with a note that reads "With Best Wishes to Randall, from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster."...More

Survivor Camera

Did this antique camera save a Polish Jew during the Holocaust? ...More

U.S.S. Indianapolis

Could these souvenirs be remnants of one of Japan’s famous kamikaze attacks? ...More

USS Olympia Glass

Could this farmhouse door have sailed into battle in one of the country's greatest naval victories? ...More

Whaling Ship

Might a whaling ship docked in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut hold secrets to the Underground Railroad?...More

WWII Diary

Does this diary hold the key to understanding the fate of a missing bomber pilot from World War II?...More