ouse can have that. if you see that white house -- that lighthouse with those colors, you know you are in san augustine. we still have our original 1874 lens, and it has three bull's-eyes on it, and when they rotate, basically, the beams are 30 seconds apart. a steady light with 32nd flashes is what it will look like when you're on the ocean, and that is our unique night mark. we basically serve to let sailors know they are in san augustine and let them know where the port is so they can safely be guided inside. the lighthouse still comes on every night. as a museum, we maintain that now through volunteers and that and donations. we actually came in and restore the lighthouse and the original keepers house, which was from 1876 and we have preserved those for future generations so they can see how the lighthouse works, how it was operated. the keepers that live here -- it was like a military post for them. they and their families lived here. they worked a and night. it was a very tough job. 219 steps to the top of the

tower, and they had to climb up every two or three hours to put oil into the lantern and clean things off wind the clock mechanism that kept the lens rotating. it was a really rigorous job and we just wanted to keep that commemorated and let people come and see how that worked. in addition to being historic preservationists and taking care of the tower we launched a lighthouse archaeological maritime program, and what we do is we have a team of archaeological researchers and they go out and look at shipwrecks in our area. san augustine being the nation's oldest city is also the nation's oldest port, so they go out and find shipwrecks using a magnetometer like a big metal detector, they drag the water, and dive down to those wrecks and analyze what is there. we break down some of the artifacts and use those to bring down the story behind the ships. as the ships were coming and going, that was in and out of

saint augustine for 100 years, so it can tell us a lot about the people who were coming and going from san augustine. at one time, there was a shipwreck every two weeks so there are literally hundreds of shipwrecks off our coast just waiting to be discovered waiting for us to come in and be able to excavate those. we look forward to the next piece of san augustine history that we will uncover. >> throughout the weekend american history tv is featuring saint augustine, florida. our city's tour staff recently traveled there to learn about its rich history. learn more about san augustine and other stops on our tour at www.c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span3. >> at age 25, she was one of the wealthiest what is in the colonies, and during the revolution, while in her mid-40's, she was considered an enemy by the british, who

threatened to take her hostage. later, she would become our nation's first first lady at age 57. martha washington. this sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's original series "first ladies: influence an image," examining the public and private lives of the women who filled the position of first lady and their influence on the presidency. from martha washington to michelle obama. sundays at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3 -- on c-span3. and as a competent to the new series c-span's new book providing lively stories of these women creating eliminating -- create an illuminating and inspiring read. >> each week "american artifacts" takes you to museums and historic places to learn what artifacts reveal about american history.

now, we visit the museum in washington, d.c., to view an exhibit to mark the 150th anniversary of lincoln's assassination. "the new york herald" special edition published on april 14 and 15 eight and 55 show how the news unfolded after the first associated press report that the president had been shot -- published on april 14 and 15, 1865. >> on the curator of collections here at the museum, and we are in our new lincoln exhibit called "president lincoln is dead." this exhibit has a really tight focus on seven editions of "the new york herald," which was the most widely circulated newspaper of the time that were published in the 18 hours immediately following lincoln's assassination. it is the minute by minute story of the news as it happened as people were getting at in this country about the assassination of lincoln. one of the ways we help people understand the not just time but

place is through this great map that we have on the floor in the center of the gallery because we are almost here in this building at the epicenter of things. for theater is certainly the true spot of most significance to this day, but the museum is on the site of the national hotel, which is the hotel where booth stayed the night before he committed this horrible crime. the very first edition is the 2:00 a.m. edition, more or less the regular edition of the "new york herald" which was the morning paper at that time and essentially, it is the breaking news. the splash moment of the president has been shot. interestingly enough, it uses the word assassination already in that paper. at the time, the word meant a surprise violent attack on someone. it did not necessarily mean something that resulted in death. it has come to mean that over

the years, but it is sort of interesting. one of the things i really hope people comprehend as they move through this exhibit is that they get that understanding of how people at the time were getting their news. this was really a moment in time where everything had so to come together. there was still this incredible squadron of reporters available because we were just coming off the war. the capacity of "the new york herald" to move so swiftly with the number of pressman they had and the speed of their presses to be able to push this much news out this rapidly. to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time all seven editions have been together since they were printed 150 years ago. of course, that sesquicentennial anniversary of the assassination of lincoln is the reason for the timing of this exhibit.

lincoln always fascinates people to this day, but this year in particular is important because it marks the 150th anniversary of his assassination. the first >> anytime singer website at the span.org/history. >> american history tv was lvie ive from the university of virginia in charlottesville on the civil war. next, our coverage from the symposium, including the surrender of the confederate armies, the assassination of president lincoln the cultural environment in both the north and south, as well as the meaning of the work for african-americans. the american civil war