Upcoming on the History Channel

[Double D]

Upcoming on the History channel program Battlefield detectives are following programs featuring cannon fire.

American Revolution: Battle of Monmouth.
Airs on Sunday, May 1 at 10:00am ET

A key moment in the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and her 13 rebellious colonies, the Battle of Monmouth took place on June 28, 1778, in rural New Jersey. The British assumed that the American Army was weak, ill-disciplined, and incapable of facing up to seasoned British regulars. But at Monmouth, things turned out differently. Washington used his artillery so effectively that the cowed British were pinned down, took significant casualties, and left their dead unburied. In this hour, historians, archaeologists, meteorologists, physiologists, and munitions experts examine the evidence of what took place at Monmouth. In modern laboratory conditions, they test what happens when men in heavy woolen uniforms fight on one of the hottest days in New Jersey history, and investigate the effects of a new intensive training regime on the colonial forces.  TVPG V

The Mexican-American War: Battle of Palo Alto.
Airs on Thursday, May 5 at 8:30am ET

On May 8, 1846, Mexico and the United States met in battle at a place called Palo Alto, near Brownsville, deep in Southern Texas. The two countries had been anticipating war since the annexation of Texas in 1845. The future President, General Zachary Taylor led the Americans--among his officers, 51 future generals, including Ulysses S. Grant and George Meade. But for over 150 years, what really happened has remained obscure. The official contemporaneous sketches implied the battle ended in a draw. Yet by day's end, the Mexican army was in full retreat. Now, battlefield archaeology is working on the hidden story of Palo Alto. Archaeologists, forensic scientists, and historians join forces, and aided by tests at the U.S. Army's Yuma Missile Proving Ground, are cracking this military mystery.  TVPG

Trafalgar.
Airs on Sunday, May 22 at 10:00am ET

October 21, 1805: Off the Cape of Trafalgar in the North Atlantic, British warships lock in a savage battle with a combined French and Spanish fleet. In the end, it was a crushing British victory--but the Royal Navy's commander Horatio Nelson lay dead. New technology and groundbreaking historical detective work shed crucial new light on the battle and the man celebrated as history's greatest naval leader. How close to victory was Napoleon's Franco-Spanish fleet? How much did Nelson risk at Trafalgar?  TVPG

The Civil War: Antietam.
Airs on Wednesday, May 25 at 8:00pm ET

General Robert E. Lee's first invasion into the North ended in the Battle of Antietam--the bloodiest single day in the Civil War--and in all US history. Just 12 hours of fighting resulted in nearly 23,000 casualties. On September 17, 1862, two determined armies gathered near Sharpsburg, a quiet backwater near Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Union forces were desperate to repel the South's invasion of their territory. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, its back to the Potomac River, was fighting for its very existence. Much was at stake. But just why was Antietam such a terrible killing field? Now the latest forensic techniques are shedding new light on the question. Experts from the fields of archaeology, geology, weapons technology, and pathology investigate this uniquely horrific moment in American history.  TVPG V

The Civil War: Gettysburg.
Airs on Wednesday, May 25 at 9:00pm ET

July 1-3, 1863: Over three hot days, Union and Confederate forces clashed in and around a small Pennsylvania town. When the Battle of Gettysburg ended, the two exhausted sides had inflicted more than 50,000 casualties upon one another--the largest battle ever fought on American soil. The third day is considered the Confederacy's "high-water mark"--when General Robert E. Lee lost the decisive battle of the Civil War. But scientific battlefield evidence now suggests that by the time the artillery began firing that day, the Confederate fight was already doomed. And when Pickett's Charge--the famous full frontal attack against Union lines--got underway, the battle effectively was over. Experts in physics, geology, crowd control, and cartography join forces with military historians to better understand this epic battle.  TVPG

[Cpt Ed]

Many thanks “DD” for the Heads-Up. Looks like several very interesting programs, I will be running the VCR.

[Cat Whisperer]

Interesting bits of history - almost enough motivation to get cable.


How about a report of the highlights from you folks that watch it?