sold -- saw it on a show -- on a bookshelf and said that's us ,lee's miserables. >> coming up, arthur christian mcburney talks about his book, "kidnapping the enemy." it chronicles the capture of two high ranking officers during the revolutionary war. british dragoons kidnapped major general charles lee, then second-in-command of the continental army. they were confident the war would soon be over. but the americans decided to respond with a special operation of their own. this event from the national archives is a little under one hour. >> our topic is the special operations to capture general charles lee and richard prescott by christian mcburney.

raised in rhode island and graduated from brown university, mr. mcburney has been an attorney in washington, d.c., for the last 25 years. his prior book to "kidnapping the enemy" was also on the revolutionary war. please join me in welcoming christian mcburney to the national archives. [applause] >> thank you. before i begin my presentation, i would like to know if anyone in the audience is a hollywood screenwriter. a few days ago, i received a call from someone who professed to be a hollywood agent saying he wanted to submit the screenplay of my book to hollywood and believe it or not

having matt damon or george clooney with a leading role. if anyone is interested in being a screenwriter, please let me know. i am just kidding. i am not taking it that seriously. that is charles lee. these operations of kidnapping were not infrequent. george washington supported such efforts undertaken by the continental army. referring to a plan to capture clinton in new york city, he wrote i think it one of the most desirable and honorable things imaginable taking him prisoner. washington was the target of an attempt to kidnap him in the winter of 1778-1779, but it did not succeed. my story starts with charles lee. he was probably the most

remarkable personality on either side. he was brilliant but eccentric, well schooled in military matters but bitingly sarcastic with his superiors. you can see charles lee there. that was said to be the best likeness of him ever done. he was a thin man. he had a large nose. an american friend called him "naso." that is his dog, one of the earliest images we have of a pomeranian. lee loved dogs. well, today, it was then seen as eccentric. once when asked page until young woman if he was fond of dogs. he retorted, "i love dogs but detest bitches." [laughter] that is the kind of guy he was. he was an englishman largely ignored by his mother and father

who was absent on duty with the british army. but his father did train and educate lee to become a military man. his first military expense was in north america during the french and indian war. he showed courage by being wounded at the failed british siege of fort ticonderoga in 1778. he was also insulting to his superior generals. he called the major general the booby in chief. he was not making friends in the british establishment. some referred to him as mad lee. he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. after the war, he was temporarily retired. he decided to become a soldier of fortune and served in high positions in poland and other

countries gaining valuable experience. he made it clear in his letters home he was against the british monarchy and favorite republican government. he decided to move to america. he was hailed as a patriot leader. he wrote a popular pamphlet arguing that if the congress with britain should lead to war, they could defeat the british regulars. the continental congress had to choose generals. as a recent english transplant, he did not expect to be chosen to be the leading general but wanted to be second-in-command desperately. john adams convinced congress lee should be third in command. he was outraged. his response was typical, overly harsh but accurate. he described the harvard

educated ward as a fat old gentleman with no acquaintance with military affairs. after a few months, ward realized he was over his head, retired, and lee became second in command. by november, the continental army was in dire straits. in he tried to defend new york 1776. city but failed miserably. british commander william howe crushed washington's army. on long island. he easily maneuvered, with the help of the navy run by his brother, to capture new york city. washington agreed to fortify and reinforce fort washington, the last bastion on the island. howe overran the fort resulting in american soldiers being captured. many died in prison. fort lee fell to a british force.

these were some of the worst disasters of the war suffered by americans. at this point, lee confidence in washington as commander-in-chief. he recommended no reinforcements be sent to fort washington. washington was not yet the mythical figure he is today. lee appears to have made the decision he deserved to replace washington as commander-in-chief of the british army. after the fall of fort lee, general cornwallis began to chase the remnants of washington's army out of new jersey. outnumbered, washington differently needed help. -- desperately needed help. he left lee commanding 7000 troops in white plains, new york, to protect new england. he asked but did not order lee to join him. during what was probably the most dangerous time for washington's army, lee delayed.

while he was too smart to leave a paper trail, it appears he wanted to maintain an independent command as long as possible. that is the way to glory, to have an independent command. if washington's army was crushed by cornwallis, lee might go to the top command of the continental army. here is a map of the new jersey theater. lee started in white plains, crossed kings ferry, and took his time until he got down to moorestown. he received the request to join washington on november 22. he did not even start to march his troops until november 26. most of his regiments did not start marching until two days later and did not cross the hudson river until december 4. when he started marching in new jersey, he did not set any speed

records either. general cornwallis had chased washington's army out of new jersey across the delaware river. it seemed he could easily capture philadelphia. it is just down here, not far from the delaware river. that's where philadelphia is. washington begged lee to hurry to help defend the city. lee reached moorestown on -- moorestown, new jersey on december 8 and his troops met him there december 10. lee led his men rest an entire day, even though it was good marching weather. the next day, he had his troops head to new jersey while he and a small entourage road at the rear of the army. he wanted to spend the night at an inn. he was told of an inn three miles from his troops.

he decided to stay there with his aides and officers. the tavern was owned and operated by mary white. she was operating it as a result of two of her prior husbands dying. operating an inn was one of the few occupations deemed acceptable for a single woman at the time. she was assisted by an older sister. at a time, basking ridge was a small collection of houses surrounded by farms. lee's decision to spend the night far from his troops with a critical mistake. a party of british had departed to ride north. they knew he was there and wanted to know what he was about. led by lieutenant colonel harcourt, the son of a british earl, and banastre tarleton, who would later gain a reputation as the most fearsome commander, the

road over the river and headed north to moorestown. -- morris town. on the way, loyalists to king george iii informed them lee was staying nearby at basking ridge. it was common. local civilians knew everything about both armies. information spread quickly without cell phones or landline phones. lee wrote a letter complaining he was surrounded by tories and had to be careful. he was aware of the risk. i will not go into the details of the raid. you will have to read the book for that. i will say harcourt seized the moment and changed his mission. he and his men set out for the village gaining valuable information all along the way by threatening captured american soldiers with death.

it worked. his force surrounded the tavern in which lee was staying. after a short a violent struggle with his guards, they captured him along with one of the french officers. with the american militia hunting for them, he his raiders raced back to safety in pennington. here is an image of harcourt accepting lee's sword in surrender. the problem is the british wore the redcoats and the americans wore the blue coats, but still it is a good depiction. after the british raiding party left, those who came to care for the wounded and dead buried two americans cut down by tarleton's dragoons. one woman recalled they had hacked them so terribly it was difficult to remove their bodies.

they were interred in the field where they lay. here is a map of the path the raid took. it is difficult to see. it went down and across the river. these roads still exist. this was done by an aide to nathaniel greene a few days later. at the time, his capture was considered a disaster for the americans. the young officer gave the view of many of his fellow officers. john trumbull junior -- this is misfortune that cannot be remedied as we have no other officer of equal expense and merit. the british are led by great men and expected lee's capture would end the war. lieutenant harcourt road to his brother that as lee was the most

enterprising of the generals, it seems to be the universal opinion they will no longer seek the same terms offered. the captain wrote he did not think they could stand long as lee was their chief men. the law of unintended consequences took over. if lee had not been captured, it seems clear he would have tried to capture a british outpost. this would have been difficult since the british army was aware of his presence. after learning of his capture, general sullivan rushed his troops across the river to join washington. we know what happened next. on christmas day in a snowstorm, washington and his men recrossed the delaware and captured troops at trenton. this raid altered the course of the war giving american patriots new hope. i argue that if lee had not been captured, the victory at trenton may not have happened. all sorts of explanations and

legends of his capture had been discussed. some patriots thought maybe he was a traitor. i don't think so although he did engage in traitorous activities as a prisoner. by august of 1781, a myth arose involving sexual escapades. a french officer visited the tavern to find out himself the reason for the capture. he was informed lee was smitten by the lady of the house. one of the jealous cousins went to general harcourt and informed him the general was in his house with a small guard. this story lacks credibility. it is hard to believe lee was smitten by the lady of the house because the timing does not work.

one of the controversies of his capture was whether the captors prevented him from wearing his hat and coat as he was led out of basking ridge. it was deemed scandalous for a gentleman to appear outside without hat and coat. one man wrote to his father that the inhuman rascals would not permit the general to take his hat and coat but carried him off almost naked. even washington complained they carried him off with every mark of indignity. the best evidence appears to be that harcourt allowed lee to bring his hat and coat but did not allow him time to put them on. lee's fate as a prisoner was of intense interest in london with

the continental congress. the british believed because he served as a british officer, he was a deserter. he had taken up arms against his king. one british officer's view was typical. "i am happy to see mr. lee in custody and will be happy to hear he has been tried as a deserter and hanged." here is an example of what fate lee had before him. this is from the scottish rebellion. it is the execution of lord lovat. his head was removed so he was not actually hanged, but that is still not a good resort. the treatment of captured officers was not certain. the test case was ethan allen. he'd captured a fort begotten .- fort ticonderoga when he was captured himself captured ahead of an american army said to invade canada. when captured, he was brought before major general prescott

who plays a major role in my book. he was one of those british officers who considered rebels to be criminals. after all, weren't all traitors criminals? prescott turned purple with rage and yelled at allen he would not execute him but he would grace the place in london where they would hang prisoners. allen was treated terribly. he was brought to england and placed in a common prison where it was expected he would be hanged. an extraordinary thing happened. he became a cause celeb. patriots clamored for his release. authorities wanting to avoid a scene quickly sent him back to north america. after more miserable treatment, allen was treated the way captured officers were expected to be treated. he was allowed to live in a house in new york city with other captured officers. during the day, he was allowed

to roam the city freely. he only had to return at night. general hal and king george wanted lee to be hanged. when the continental congress got wind of this plan, it passed resolutions warning the doctrine of retaliation would be applied if lee was harmed, cap this will be treated in a similar manner. john adams and his wife exchanged letters about the doctrine of retaliation. abigail favored a humane approach. let them approach us for our kindness and tenderness to those who have fallen into our hands. i hope it will never provoke us to retaliate against their cruelties. john wrote back that while he admired her sentiments, we must practice retaliation to make the respect the rights of humanity.

under the threat of retaliation, howe defended turning lee over. it had to be determined if he could be convicted of desertion. howe refused to treat lee like a normal prisoner. he made sure he was well fed and provided for, but he had no freedom of movement like other officers. in retaliation, officers ordered six officers captured by americans be confined to their rooms, including lieutenant colonel archibald campbell. he was not only an army officer, he was a scottish aristocrat. massachusetts authorities threw him in a dirty jail in concord, massachusetts. just awful, until they realized general lee was not being detained in a similar manner.

one man in rhode island worried about charles lee and wanted to do something about it. he knew lee would never be exchanged until the americans had a prisoner of the same rank, major general david this man's name was william barton. he was born in ordinary circumstances in rhode island. he had struggled to build a small business in providence. when war broke out, he joined the rhode island militia as a private. his leadership skills showed through and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in one of rhode island's state regiments. barton met lee when he visited newport and thought him a great general. in june of 1777, newport and the rest of the island was under the occupation of the british army. on december 8, 1776, a powerful fleet of more than 71 ships carried them to narragansett bay.

they quickly captured it. you can see the british soldiers in red coats being sent to the shoreline. british warships patrolled the bay not allowing any american ships in or out of the bay. they were powerless to dislodge the british army. at a time, newport was the fifth most important city in the united states. who can name the other four top cities at that time in the united states? go ahead and name them out. >> [indiscernible] >> no. philadelphia, new york, charleston, and boston. newport was very prominent. on june 20, 1777, a man was escorted to headquarters.

he recently escaped from the island. he had news about major general richard prescott who had recently assumed command of british troops on the island. this was the same prescott who earlier abused ethan allen. reported general prescott was ending nights at the house of a man on the island. now he was spending nights at an isolated farmhouse about five miles north of newport. barton had an idea. he would form a small party of soldiers with expense using boats. on a dark night, they would take the boats across narragansett bay avoiding the british warships. they would land unnoticed on the shores of the island, sneak up and surround the house. they would storm the house, capture general prescott and taking back the mainland. he could then be exchanged for general lee.

here is a picture of general prescott. he was a hated figure in rhode island. he was the classic petty tyrant. when he interviewed a captain that had been captured, he reportedly knocked him in the head and threatened to hang him. he would regulate threaten the captive with being hanged. he was known to strike quaker men with his cane for failing to doff their hats in respect when he approached. sometimes even the british felt prescott went too far. in canada he had put out a reward of 1000 pounds for the capture of america's best general at the time, benedict arnold. arnold announced a reward for the capture of prescott. but it was only half the amount, 500 pounds. london newspapers admired arnold for his cleverness, and prescott looked like a fool. why was prescott spending time at the rural house? later reports was he wanted to

sleep with john oberlin's wife or other local women. that was not true. he wanted to be close to the action. most of the american raids were at the northern part of the island. here is newport down here on the southern end of the island. here is the house. most of the american troops were here and here at the northern part of the island. they would make nightly raids and annoy the british guard houses. occasionally, they would come over with troops. he wanted to be close to the action in case there was a real raid. he ordered most of his troops to be posted in the northern part of the island. he wanted to be closer to the action. he received permission from superiors to gather troops and

boats to execute his plan. his party consisted of 48 men. the steerer for the boat was a native american from massachusetts one of his men who assisted him with african-american. both had experience whale boats. i will not go into details of the raid. you have to read the book for that. the raid succeeded. not only was he surprised, but they grabbed the nephew of the british secretary of war and the sentry in front of the house. later, one of the raiders moved to vermont and sent his kid to a school. the teacher at the school was the sentry captured. barton realized the weakest link was prescott's reliance on british ships in narragansett bay to protect the island. prescott had troops on the east side of the island, on the northern end of the island, the

southern end. he relied on the royal navy ships right here. it is deceiving. these ships are two miles away here and four miles away here. barton thought about coming down to bristol which is closer but would have had to come within one mile of these ships. instead, he decided to come from [indiscernible] at night to there and then came down using prudence island as a shield and then when in between jamestown and prudence island and landed here. that was late at night on july 10. the most significant risk they faced was being spotted by sailors and guard boats in the bay. the warships sent out guard boats to give warning of american ships trying to enter or leave the bay. they were not expecting raiding ships. if they had been caught, they all probably would have been taken prisoner and put aboard prison ships in newport harbor. there was a humanitarian disaster on board the prison

ships in newport and dozens died. barton and his men avoided being caught. they succeeded. it was an incredible feat stealing a general in the midst of a british army without a shot being fired. the americans were thrilled. washington gushed it was among the best partisan efforts on either side. the continental congress was so pleased it made barton a colonel in the continental army and ordered an elegant sword be awarded to him. this is now held by the rhode island historical society. here is a picture of the sword.

it was beautiful, made in france. only 15 were awarded to american officers during the war. david humphreys in 1786 brought 10 back from france. all 10 still exist today. this is one. the british were humiliated. a british officer wrote in his diary it is an extraordinary circumstance that a general commanding 4000 and on island surrounded by ships of war should be carried off in the night by a small party of the enemy without a shot fired. here is a map the gentleman wrote. barton landed here.

the grass was dented down so they could tell the path barton and his men took. the condition of the land is still the way it was back then. british newspapers focused on two salacious points. prescott's shortage of clothing when he was spirited away and rumors of female companionship in the house. a london newspaper reported rebel troops took him naked out of his bed not allowing him to put his clothes on. they made a big deal charles lee could not wear his hat and coat. now prescott was being taken out of the house of the gentleman naked. it was reported he retired with a mile from his post with a lady but was discovered and taken by the party at 2:00 in the morning. here is the cover of a typical london newspaper in little time, his capture became the subject of song and jokes. the ridicule became too much for king george iii to stomach. a newspaper reported his majesty complains of the injustice done to prescott by the news writers.

this rumor of royalty favor caused the humorists pause for some weeks. the cease-fire ended with a september 20 addition of the "london evening post." it declared when general prescott was taken prisoner, all he was heard to say as they were bearing him out of the court heard of the house was "give me my breeches." they returned to their favorite topic with relish. this is from the "morning chronicle. a general has been abused and falsely accused.

how could a man be neglectful of duty taken storming the fortress of beauty? "the london chronicle" capitalized on the fun of general prescott being carried off naked. what lures there are to ruin a man? a nymph spoiled a general's mighty plan and gave him to the foes without his breeches. eventually, the writers became bored and moved on to the next topic. there is no credible evidence indicating prescott was found with a woman or stayed in the oberlin house to sleep with oberlin's wife or daughter or anyone else despite the legend.

it was extraordinary freedom english writers had marking the much mocking military leaders during wartime. washington immediately offered to exchange prescott for lee. barton refused. he had not received word on whether lee should be treated as a traitor. the king recognizing lee did resign and cognizant of the policy to impose retaliation allowed lee to be treated as a regular prisoner that could be exchanged. it took some time for howe and washington to clear the air regarding the difference of prisoners generally. finally, the generals were exchanged in 1878. lee arrived back at valley forge in may. i spent most of the chapter explaining how lee returned as general, second-in-command to washington, how he opposed fighting the british army because he did not think the army could win. how he commanded the american army and was accused of unnecessary retreat and insulting washington, how he was convicted of the same at court-martial and suspended for

one year, how the court-martial was unfair but unintentionally got it right. here is a nice drawing of lee called "the suspended general." he is in a boot. he did have a large proboscis as well. lee died of disease in philadelphia in 1782 in disgrace. by contrast, william barton would live for many years. he gained tremendous reputation for planning and leading the capture of general prescott. after the war, barton became a member of the federalist party. rhode islanders preferred to remain virtually independent and were the last holdout of the original 13 colonies adopting the constitution. on may 29, 1790, when the state convention narrowly voted to ratify the constitution, william barton was given the distinct honor of bringing the news to president washington himself.

here is a portrait of william barton at the rhode island historical society made about that time. it is a painting of the one at brown university. after the war, many continental army officers returned to former positions as successful lawyers, merchants, and lawyers. barton had been a hatter prior to the war. now that he was a war hero, he had too much pride to return to that role. he always struggled with money. he was appointed to the top federal post in the state, collector of taxes at providence work. he had trouble supporting his wife and large family in the lifestyle of a general. rhode island's postwar economy suffered. many immigrated to the midwest and vermont. barton led a group of providence meant to obtain a grant of land from the state of vermont for undeveloped land in the northeast part of the state. his cause was helped in the virginia house by the brother of

ethan allen. the vermont legislature in 1781 did grant land to barton and his group. the village was and still is named barton. a small amount of taxes was imposed on the land allotted to the founders to pay for surveying and other costs. allen was granted the most, 18 lots, but failed to pay taxes. william barton purchases the land forfeited by ira allen. ira allen was a powerful man in virginia politics. soon ira allen's successors brought suit against barton. the legal history was tangled to say the least. after more than 15 years of litigation, a judge declared in 1810 that the old gentleman should be perplexed no longer and ruled in favor of barton.

that seemed to settle it. in 1811, the chief judge of the vermont supreme court reopened the case and ruled against barton requiring him to pay about $600. barton refused. in september of 1812, he was thrown in debtors prison in vermont. in those days, a debtor could be forced to prison until he paid his debts. after a short time, family or friends would pay the debt and the prisoner would be released. there was no ability to get debts canceled and get a fresh start as there is now. barton refused to allow any family or friends to pay the debt. it was a matter of honor to him and he would not pay the damages or let family and friends pay either. however, barton was allowed to stay at an inn and not the prison. barton spent years trying to get someone to pay the debt who were not friends or family. he wrote to the vermont legislature and even monroe to no avail. john barton expressed the frustration and sadness over his continued absence.

i would say something on your return to providence, but what can i say i have not already said? i pray you once more to return to the bosom of your family, sure and certain im you're staying in vermont will answer no good purpose. i pray you to consider the feelings of your family were you to be called from this world absent from them. like many others, this appeal failed to move barton. his son's letter suggest clearly his father had chosen to remain in the predicament. in rhode island, his wife was without a husband. while he was in purgatory, three sons were dying. grandchildren would be boring and old friends would pass away. why did barton sacrifice so much for the sake of a few old debts? it seems the award and fame bestowed on him for the capture of general prescott drove him. before the war, he had been humble and hard-working. the capture earned him colonel in the continental army. he had risen to the rank of major general and personally delivered word to washington that rhode island had voted to

become one of the united states. when he was victimized and insulted by the legal system, he saw it as a blow to his honor. his ego will not allow him to bow to what he saw as unjust application of the laws. news of his plight began to circulate in newspapers. many could not believe an old war hero was stuck in debtors' prison for years. fate intervened. does anyone know who this is? lafayette, very good. he made a triumphant tour of the united states and feted as a hero. he no doubt heard of barton's imprisonment when he visited providence. he definitely heard about barton's fight when he visited vermont in 1825. barton had known lafayette personally and probably first met the french general when he served in the rhode island campaign of 1778. lafayette wrote a check to pay the sums for which barton was confined. would barton accept this generosity? he had long refused to let friends assist him. lafayette was a friend.

barton accepted lafayette's offer and general barton was at liberty to return to his family after a separation of more than 13 years. a man who rode to barton described the old soldier's return to his home. barton seemed like rip van winkle who awoke after sleeping for 20 years. it seemed to astonish the old general to see the great alterations on the road as lee approached providence. when he spoke of lafayette, his eyes filled with tears of gratitude. he had been a powerful man and at 77 retains much of the bigger of his younger days. he would sing a revolutionary song with a clear and strong voice. when the old general entered his home and embraced his wife, his children, and his children's

children, it was a scene i could not believe. they all melted into tears. barton was finally reunited with his family. rhode islanders were thrilled to have him back as well. he was one of the last surviving revolutionary war heroes and would remain in demand on special occasions. in 1826, he led a procession of notables through providence honoring the deaths of john adams and thomas jefferson, both of whom passed away six days earlier. he enjoyed the following july 4 visiting the oberlin house where he captured general prescott 49 years earlier. here's a picture of the house restored. lauderdale hero for the remainder of his days, he died at the age of 83.

by his death, barton's capture of general prescott had become a national honored event. many collections of american stories produced through the midcentury included a narrative of barton's raid. only with the coming of the civil war did barton's legendary capture of prescott begin to fade from public consciousness. i hope i have played a part bringing back barton as a hero of the revolutionary war. thank you. [applause] i would be glad to take any questions. please come to the microphone so c-span can hear the questions. >> i'm david baldacci.

you said the verdict of the court-martial board was unintentionally correct about lee. could you explain more? >> lee committed treason as a prisoner. he wrote out a plan for general howe on how to beat the americans. he did not think the americans could win. he thought the british would waste a lot of time, treasure, and blood winning the war. he wanted to end it as quickly as possible so he gave the british a plan. that was kept secret until 1860. when he was released, he did not tell anybody he had done that. if he had, he probably would have been hanged. he was accused of making a disorderly, disreputable retreat. in fact, he did the right thing. he saved the army from being pinned against forest and ravines. but because he was a traitor and did not believe the americans

could win the war, it was probably for the best he was suspended. >> [indiscernible] a little off-topic. just curious, who were some of the historians with whom he studied at brown university? did they have an influence on your interest in colonial history? >> at brown, my most of the -- most influential professor was gordon wood. i even told him years later the lecture i most remember was the day the boston red sox lost to the yankees with bucky dent's home run. he came and started saying it was a greek tragedy and helped me feel better. that is one of the things i most remember. >> what became of general prescott? >> he was not an important general during the revolutionary war and was not important afterwards either.

he did serve in the caribbean and did an ok job. when he died in 1796 or so, there was no mention of him in the british press at all. >> general prescott, was he related to the bush dynasty? >> i don't believe so. >> there was a prescott related to the bush dynasty. >> there was. >> but that was not the one? >> no. >> ok. >> i have one more question. were there any other prominent attempts to kidnap leaders during the revolutionary war? >> yes, there were. washington was almost captured by the british in 1778-1779. the river had frozen over and the british sent a cavalry to try to capture him.

fortunately for washington and the americans, there was a big snow storm the night before. washington tried to capture clinton in new york on two occasions. he tried to capture benedict arnold after he turned traitor in new york city. in 1782, after the battle of yorktown, he tried to capture prince william henry, who was only 16 at the time. he would later become king of england in 1831. i'm not sure what washington was thinking at that point. the british tried to capture thomas jefferson. they almost nabbed him at monticello. i'm coming out with a short book on the topic of these other captures. i think it is relevant for today because in afghanistan and iraq, the kidnapping of enemies has become more prominent. >> was charles lee part of the major lee family, robert e. lee?

>> no, he's not related. he had good family blood through his mother, aristocratic blood, but he was not related to the lees of virginia. his last house is in what is now leetown, west virginia, named after him. there was a story told he could not afford to put walls in the house, so he was drawing lines in the dirt for the living room and study. he did not have a successful postwar experience unfortunately. thank you very much. i would be glad to sign any books you have upstairs. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> president richard nixon resigned from office 40 years ago today on august 9, 1974. join american history tv today beginning 10:30 a.m. eastern time as we take you back to 1974 with archival footage of his last days in office. and we will open the phones for your comments and questions about president nixon and watergate. you're watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >> each week, american history tv's real america range of archival films to help tell the story of the 20th century. >> the dream about canal through panama.- at one time, many connected -- considered connecting the two great oceans. but it was not until 19 no three when the united states signed the