The History Things Podcast

25/08/2025

The Battle of Bladensburg was fought in Maryland on August 24, 1814 and this British victory left Washington D.C. perilously open to British invasion. The...

09/08/2025

We are saddened by the passing of Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 and a four-time spaceflight veteran.

Lovell's life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the Moon and beyond—a journey that continues today. https://go.nasa.gov/4m81ZAf

06/08/2025

It’s ! And you know what that means!
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We go to the beach!!!!!!! Kicking off August is another look at one of our favorite places, The Outer Banks of North Carolina!
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This time we’re investigating the disappearance of the Fresnel Lens that illuminated the night along the coast of Cape Hatteras at the onset of the American Civil War.
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Eventually thought to be lost to time, Author Kevin Duffus takes us through his incredible journey of discovery and the tracking down of “The Lost Light!”
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01/08/2025

New episode coming Monday!
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Join us as we explore the rich history of the original Fresnel Lens that sat upon the Cape Hatteras light house and was for a significant time, “lost” to history!
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Author Kevin Duffus takes us from the lens’s creation to its journey to Cape Hatteras, as well as what happens to it after Confederate soldiers attempt to hide it during the !
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Download this episode and all episodes of for on and !
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09/06/2025

307 YEARS AGO THIS AFTERNOON

Imagine the scene.

Three hundred and seven years ago on this date, Monday, June 9, four sailing vessels—three sloops and one large, three masted ship—appear over the southwest horizon and slowly sail toward what is today known as Beaufort Inlet.

Near the entrance of the channel leading from the ocean to the placid waters of the sound, the vessels converge and round up into the wind.

Orders were shouted from the quarterdeck of the large ship. Then, the three sloops fill their sails and creep slowly northward through the channel, guided by a small tender ahead taking soundings, searching for deepest water.

The large ship remains outside of the inlet, waiting until the next morning to enter on the rising tide. Sometime after the sun rises the next day, the ship hoists anchor and begins to sail in to join its consorts.

Suddenly, the ship hits an immovable object with a crash. The ship lurches forward. The bow dips down, the stern rises abruptly, and the hull rolls over on the ship’s beam, throwing the hundred men standing on deck to their knees.

Below deck there is a loud, sickening crack as the keel is shattered. Topmasts snap and tumble to the deck.

The QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE, given her Jacobite name by her captain as a salute to the Stuart dynasty of Scottish kings and queens, has run hard aground, never to sail again. The date is June 10, 1718, the birthday of Queen Anne’s younger half-brother James III, the hapless pretender to the British throne.

The scuttling of the pirate ship was no accident. It had been cleverly planned months earlier by the captain and his closest and most-trusted officers and friends. The cunning gambit was executed brilliantly. Hundreds of pirates were fooled, marooned, and abandoned.

Within a few days, the notorious pirate Black Beard was on his way to the tiny North Carolina village of Bath with all of the pirate company’s treasure.

03/06/2025

🚨NEW EPISODE OUT🚨
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Jim Hessler, Gettysburg LBG & host of the The Battle of Gettysburg Podcastand Matt Callery, host of Addressing Gettysburg - Podcast join us to talk about one of the most popular and often misinterpreted battles in American history, the Battle of Little Bighorn/Battle of the Greasy Grass!
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In this episode we discuss the campaign and combatants, as well as the effects that popular culture have had on the memory of what became known as “Custer’s Last Stand!”
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Download this episode and all episodes of the podcast for on and , or watch it on our channel (link in our bio)!
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Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoy the show!
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05/05/2025

12/04/2025

12/04/2025

07/04/2025

🚨NEW EPISODE OUT NOW 🚨: “Surrender At Appomattox,” with Patrick Schroeder is out now!
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On this day, the first of a series of communications between Generals Ulysses S Grant and Robert E Lee will pass through the lines that were being held precariously by the Army of Northern Virginia around Farmville as the Army of the Potomac began to completely overwhelm what was left of the retreating rebel force.
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“General R.E. Lee:
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The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the C.S. Army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.
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U.S. Grant
Lieutenant-General”
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06/04/2025