SEASON 5

History Detectives aired 12 episodes in Season 5.

See the previews below to find out more about each story.

Or if you're looking for an older story, browse the Archive featuring details you won't have seen on TV and full transcripts of each story.

 

EPISODE 12 - September 10, 2007

USS Thresher

How are these documents connected to a nuclear submarine, which sank with all hands during the height of the Cold War? ...More

Pete Gray Cartoon

Do these unsigned drawings from the golden age of comics tell the tale of a real life superhero? ...More

Manhattan Project Letter

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

Buy Episode 12 on DVD

 

EPISODE 11 - September 3, 2007

Bill Pickett Saddle

Did this saddle ride into cowboy history with one of rodeo's most daring innovators? ...More

Hitler Films

Could these rusting film canisters contain unknown footage of one of the 20th century's most heinous murderers? ...More

McKinley Casket Flag

Did this flag once drape the casket of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley? ...More

Buy Episode 11 on DVD

 

EPISODE 10 - August 27, 2007

Lincoln Letter

Does this cryptic letter reveal Abraham Lincoln's secret strategy for winning political power? ...More

Quaker Map

Did this faded map once guide slaves to freedom on the underground railroad? ...More

U.S.S. Indianapolis

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

Buy Episode 10 on DVD

 

EPISODE 9 - August 20, 2007

Red Cloud Letter

How was a leader of the Lakota people connected with the controversial sculptor of Mount Rushmore? ...More

'32 Ford Roadster

Was this car among the popular hot rods that raced out at the dry lakes in the 1930s? ...More

Cast Iron Eagle

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

Buy Episode 9 on DVD

 

EPISODE 8 - August 13, 2007

Coca-Cola Trade Card

Could this 1886 card which advertises a strange-sounding beverage be a unique piece of early Coca-Cola advertising? ...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

Vicksburg Map

The Battle of Vicksburg was vital to the north’s command and ultimate success in the the Civil War. Could this map have been used during the seige?...More

 

EPISODE 7 - August 6, 2007

Grace Kelly Car

Is this the car driven by an actress turned princess, which would give it a place in cinematic history?...More

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle

Where did this 1914 Harley-Davidson ride into battle? Was it war-torn Europe or closer to home?...More

Civil War POW Photos

Were these pictures made in a Civil War prison with a home-made camera? ..More

 

EPISODE 6 - July 30, 2007

NC-4: First Across the Atlantic

Is this piece of fabric a remnant from the first transatlantic flight, eight years before Lindbergh?...More

Howard Hughes Crash

Was this the instrument that chartered Howard Hughes' near fatal plunge into Beverly Hills?...More

Civil War Balloon

Is this frayed piece of material an artifact from the country's first military airship?...More

Buy Episode 6 on DVD

 

EPISODE 5 - July 23, 2007

Great Mexican War Posters

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

Muhlenberg Robe

Was this robe torn off during a fiery sermon to rally congregants to the cause of the Revolutionary War? ...More

Nora Holt Autograph Book

Why did this Harlem Renaissance luminary own a book bearing the signatures of Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge?...More

Buy Episode 5 on DVD

 

EPISODE 4 - July 16, 2007

Atocha Spanish Silver

What is the meaning of these markings on a silver bar discovered in the wreck of the Spanish ship?...More

Ernie Pyle's Typewriter

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

Lucy Parsons Book

Was the legendary anarchist the owner of this manifesto found in a library?...More

Buy Episode 4 on DVD

 

EPISODE 3 - July 9, 2007

GAR Photograph

How did two African Americans come to be part of this photograph of about 20 older white men in Reconstructionist-era America?...More

Jefferson Pledge

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

Dempsey Fight Bell

Is this the bell that sat ringside at the world's first boxing superstar's legendary match? ...More

Buy Episode 3 on DVD

 

EPISODE 2 - July 2, 2007

Continental Currency

Could this $6 bill represent America’s first declaration of its independence? ...More

Short Snorter

Was this British ten-shilling note witness to the fateful agreement that forged the alliance between America and Britain? ...More

Liberty Bell Pin

Was one of America’s most iconic symbols melted down into a mere memento? ...More

Buy Episode 2 on DVD

 

EPISODE 1 - JUNE 25, 2007

3D Cuban Missile Crisis

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

Amos 'n' Andy Record

Is this aluminum record with the words "Amos & Andy" hand-written on its label an early recording of the old-time radio series?...More

Women's Suffrage Painting

What role did this watercolor painting play in securing women the right to vote?... More

Buy Episode 1 on DVD

Don’t forget you can watch a video trailer of Season 5, here.