by a new york times tour review. we continue our live coverage of the book festival with a three-hour in-depth program life from the stage. he will be taking your phone calls and questions from the audience. scott simon on his book unforgettable. kevin schultz on william f buckley junior. on american history tv, join us for several featured programs on sunday beginning on real america. the 1965 manned spaceflight and the first american to walk in space. his thousands of pictures capturing the war experience. we visit lamar alexander.

at 6:30, veteran journalist bob schieffer. they discuss their vietnam war experiences at the -- get our complete schedule at c-span.org. >> two military -- >> 150 years ago, on may 23 and 24 of 1865 two military processions in washington, d.c. called the grand review of the armies drew thousands of spectators to pennsylvania avenue. president andrew johnson cabinet and government officials and general ulysses s. grant watched from this reviewing stand in front of the white house. on may 23rd, an estimated 80,000 soldiers of the army of the potomac led by general meade took about six hours to pass before the reviewing stand. on may 24th general william t. sherman led 65,000 soldiers of the army of tennessee and army

of georgia on the same route. up next on american artifacts a re-enactment of the parade that celebrated the end of the civil war. >> shoulder. arms. >> my name is dr. malcolm beech and i'm president of the united states colored troops living history association and i'm from north carolina. today we're having a re-enactment called the grand review parade. this, in fact, is a re-enactment of the victory parade that was held the end of the civil war

150 years ago. down pennsylvania avenue. however, in that particular prayed the united states colored troops were not allowed to march in the victory parade, so what we're doing today is we're correcting that oversight and the uscts will march in victory today down pennsylvania avenue. we've been planning this for about 18 months. and trying to get, reach out all across the country to get participants. i think we'll have over 1500 people today that includes not

only soldiers but descendants of some of the soldiers also are going to march today. >> my name is lisa grandbury. i'm from tennessee, a small town about 25 miles east of memphis. today i'm here to honor my great-great grandfather. he was fromton. so he enlisted in the u.s. colored troops regiment in 1863. >> could you tell us a little bit about your ancestor what you know? >> what i know about him. he mustered in 1863 in tennessee, and he mustered out 1866. he was with the fifth and ninth regiment and in the battle of bryce's crossroads and had expeditions in mississippi. he also helped protect the country bank camp in memphis, so he was there for a while. he also had another expedition in tupelo. he was in tupelo. he had quite a few areas that he gone to and served. he was a canon shooter.

so by the time he had gotten out, he did have some hearing problems, but other than that >> not after the war. listening to my great-great aunt, i asked her what job that he had and she said oh, baby he didn't have a job. and he was soldier. he fought in the civil war. so that was his job. so that's the only thing that i knew about him. as far as census goes it says that his occupation before mustering in was a farmer. but other than that after the war, that's all we know. >> and so you're going walk down pennsylvania avenue? >> yes, i am. i will be walking down pennsylvania honoring by great-great grandfather.

it will be a great adventure. >> tell us about your organization, what do you do on a regular basis? >> well, on a regular basis, we have members, most of the members are re-enactors. we also have teachers, historians, other scholars people interested in the african-american participation in the civil war. we go to all of the re-enactment is. recently we were in richmond. we've been down to north carolina, bentonville, forks road. any place where there's a major battle, the u.s. colored troops participated in we try to make those re-enactments. >> what do you know about the

decision 150 years ago not to include the u.s. colored troops? how did that come about? >> well, i think our opening line is always that after lincoln's assassination there was lesser men in charge. ok. and there was an opportunity, in fact, the u.s. colored troops were only about 20 miles out outside of the city. and instead of asking them to join a parade, which the general wanted them to join the if a raid they were sent back to the south to guard some of the areas that were recently surrendered by the confederates. so they were just clearly not allowed to participate. >> hi, my name is james hubbard. i'm from south jersey. i'm here today basically representing descendants of my family who fought in the civil war, one who fought in the army and one who fought in the navy. >> tell us about your ancestors. >> yes. my ancestor, one is named isaac hubbard. okay. he served in the 6th

regimental colored infantry and k company. they saw action in raleigh north carolina and saw action in richmond. the taking of richmond and taking of petersburg. the other relative i'm still researching. i have some information but i don't know what ship he served on. i'm looking into that. >> how do you find out about your relatives? >> what happened is i was here in washington, d.c. when my grandson started school and we visited the afro-american civil war museum and told us about the grand review. i between my cousin and she told me. oh, yeah a couple of relatives served in the civil war. i do? she gave me some of the information, i did some further research and that's what i found out about their service. so i'm here. i thought i would come down. my family is going to be here.

they are going watch me in the parade. they came down to see me. it's, you know, it's very interesting. it's my first one. i'm kind of like excited and enthralled by it. >> how did you fine your uniform >> there's an organization in philadelphia. he's a -- he was with the fifth or sixth regiment, colored registerment. he does re-enactments and had a naval uniform. i went online to try to find one and it was really hard. he had one. see if it fits you. and did it. it's a winter uniform but it fits. a little bit warm but it fits. i said fine, i'll take it. that's how i got it. really. johnny comes marching home johnny comes marching home again hurrah hurrah when johnny comes marching home

>> most of the uniforms obviously are replicas because they are not 150 years old, you know. in spite of a few settlers online where you can order a uniform and receive it in a matter of days. but the actual person that you are, i guess re-enacting for is what's most important. for example, i'm today, i am re-enacting for lieutenant colonel william reed who was a commander of the 35th united states colored troops based out of north carolina. in the battle in florida once the colonel was killed the lieutenant colonel took his place and led the 35th regiment

in battle in florida. so lieutenant colonel william reed is who i'm re-enacting today. >> what was his life like after the war, have you done any research? >> he suffered some wounds during the battle and he died shortly thereafter. so he didn't really have a life after the battle. but most of the u.s. colored troops, if you think about it, they were from the south. so when they mustered out of the military, they went back home or went to the areas of the south that they were most familiar with. and the good part about it is they were able to take their weapons with them so they could provide some level of safety for their community for as long as they could.

>> what should people who don't know anything about the u.s. colored troops, what sort of basic things do you think they should know >> well, it's a matter of historical fact that president lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation as a matter of military necessity. prior to the emancipation proclamation the south was winning most of the battles. with the emancipation proclamation it allowed african-americans to fight with forces with the union. of the 200,000 that joined the navy, the infantry, artillery and calvary, and they fought. so you have some fresh recruits coming in in 1863.

after 1863 clearly the north or the union begin to win more battles and we think the united states colored troops had a major role in the overall union victory. >> so can you tell me your name. >> my name is michael falco from new york city. i'm working on the civil war 150 pin hole project. i'm attending re-enactments as a 19th-century photographer. photographing those re-enactments as if the photographer was in the battle with the soldiers and trying to bring a little bit more imagination to the subject. >> why pin hole? >> i find pin hole camera,

there's no lens on this camera and so it creates these really kind of blurry soft focused images that i believe lends some imagining to this period and the pictures that i've been taking for the last few years. if you look at the pictures you really can't tell what century you're in. that's one of the things i wanted to play with and this whole idea this civil regard landscape that exists in this country still alive and well. you can visit the battlefields. those battlefields and 19th-century landscapes are in our midst. they've been protected for 150 years. many re-enactors are descendants of men who fought in this war. there's a cultural connection, 21st americans returning to this battlefields to commemorate the service of their great-great-grand fathers. my first re-enjacketment i realized i needed to become a re-enactor to get the pictures i needed. i became a re-enactor to do this

project. i had my own impressions of what re-enacting was. i didn't understand it really. after doing it for four years now i've become quite impressed with these men and women who do this. i've done a ton of reseach for my project, but i realize that i'm in -- i'm quite a novice amongst many of these men out here. i would find 75% of these re-enactors could teach a college level course on the civil war. that's something americans don't realize. but it's actually, many of them take it quite seriously, and they have it coursing through their veins, this conflict. and so they feel this is sort of like a cathartic experience for them in many ways. this is a personal project.

it began in 2011 with the beginning of the susquentennial. i launched a blowing, my experiences along the journey and the photographs i'm taking. within a couple of days i was contacted by the library of congress by its acceptance into the national archive on the civil war susqetennial. >> can you tell bus the camera. >> it's a pin hole camera. put film in the back. film is loaded into these film holders. film goes in the back. only working part on the dam a is this little, i guess we'll call it a shutter. it just blafl blocks the light from coming in and allows the light to go into the camera. light comes in and captures on the film.

that's the photograph. this technology actually dates back to the renaissance period what they called camera obscura. this is a camera obscura except i want has film in the back to capture what comes through the pin hole. i've been traveling through the country photographing this subject exclusively with this camera. >> if people are interested in your blog? >> how do they find it? >> civilwar150pinholeproject. >> thank you very much. >> thank you.

>> i'm shawn brown i'm from baltimore, maryland. >> could you tell us about these wagons here >> these wagons are accurate reproduction of civil war ambulances. these are spoils of war. we took these from the confederates down in richmond after the surrender in appomatox. this model is one of our are original issue federal ambulances. you can see on the side we've got stretchers to haul the wounded off the field then we can mount up to four stretchers in this wagon at a time so we can four wounded soldiers at the same time. sometimes even six when it's nasty.

>> so these types of wagons would have been in the parade 150 years ago >> absolutely. the army doesn't move without supplies. and when the battle starts raging these are used primarily for getting those poor men that are wounded on the field off field so we can get them back to medical assistance to our surgeons and our medics. >> how do you go about rebuilding these? where do you get the plans? >> through the amish who do a great job. there's plenty of historical references for these because they weren't just used in this period they would have been used well after that in the plains, into the 1890's. there's plenty of government requisitions and patents and things involved. it's pretty easy to trace the actual appearance of them. these flip up so that creates an interior where you can lay troops. these are notches here in front and back that you can hang the stretchers on to once you got

them occupied with wounded. this board comes up, the tailgate. we don't use that for football games. but, you can tell, obviously the obvious difference between the two is the confederates generally didn't paint their wagons it was an extra step and unnecessary expense. they are being pulled by these horses. they were bred to be thick and strong and intimidating. they were bred to carry knights into combat. so some sturdy strong animals. this is tom and jared is the onnery one. >> and we have the federal team. and then this one is pearl. and this is polly over here. i want to say late 1400's they started breeding them and they

continued to breed them because they are great for agricultural work and for pulling a plow. you don't need two to pull a plow but they are workhorses literally. >> hard to acquire this breed here? >> no. the breed is having a great resurgence in north america. a lot of great breeders. there is a percheron society. and dr. mike is driving the wagon and he breeds percheron. they want to get moving. >> must be a lot of trouble to get all this out here today. what makes you go through that trouble? >> love of history, love of my country, our country. and the educational benefits for kids today that might not understand what this country went through in the 1860's. by coming out here and sweating in wool and hauling trailers through one of the hardest cities in north america to navigate we give people a look at the conflict and what we had to go through to save this

nation. >> my name is tim hurd. i'm from o'my da, new york. we represent the 136th new york volunteer infantry. >> tell us about your uniforms. >> the old fifth new york was disbanded in jury trial 63 along with the 17th. that meant the 146th had three uniforms. they wore all sky blue and decided to pick that color. >> they were intended to be zoogs. but colonel girard, they talked him into

taking command of the regimen. they fought alongside the regular army in the fifth corps. >> why are you making the trip? >> we want to thank the men who gave so much for our freedom today. the 146th was there, too. >> there were commemorations of everything else during the civil war, appomattox, richmond. our commemoration of the end of the war is a grand review parade. to tell the nation and the world that these united states colored troops participated in gaining their own freedom. the slaves freed themselves and that's an important testament to their fortitude and bravery at this time. >> so once again we're going to

wake up all our family, the largest family out there, the grandberry family from down in tennessee. will you give us a shoutout from down there. and of course, the johnson family. give them a shoutout. some down here in the stands.

>> you are the person behind this, aren't you? >> that's right. i stepped in front of this train about six months ago. i'm happy to see it come to this. it's a wonderful day for america. >> what is your assessment of how things went today? >> there's a lot of things that go into these things. you have to make a lot of calls and send a lot of e-mails and you build friends and build connections. i'm pleased we have a team of people who believe in freedom in america, a great country who had a steady road toward freedom over the years and it's a wonderful time to celebrate when there is an african-american president in the white house, a country who has gained a lot since the time this parade took place in 1865. >> do you know how the colored trooped reacted 150 years ago when day couldn't be in the parade? >> their leader wanted to be involved. the white man who was their leader asked general grant if they could be involved.

they were in the battle of richmond and battle of wilmington. the 41st was there at the final three-hour battle and wanted to march. three days before the march he is saying we want to march and grant says no. i know they wanted to march. i think if they would have been allowed to march, america would have seen them marching down pennsylvania avenue at a special time in the wake of the death of president lincoln at a time when the country was forming its opinion of a new nation. they took them out and gave the impression that our men didn't do anything worthy of note. we wanted to correct that wrong. it took years of suffering to correct that wrong. i'm pleased to do that today. may we continue to prosper in

this great country. >> the 150th anniversary of the civil war is over. how do people like yourself and historians and the public move forward now? >> well, you know, i feel like the young people who were standing at a place called camp barker four or six blocks from here, waiting on president abraham lincoln to see them in 1862. brady makes a photograph of them behind is slavery. ahead is freedom. they don't know what is ahead but they do know what is behind them. i feel like that today. the future is bright for this country and for the people who love it and work hard to make it what it is today. i'm proud to be a part of that. glory glory hallelujah

glory glory hallelujah glory glory hallelujah his truth is marching on [applause]

>> this sunday night we will look into the lives of two ladies from the 1850's, jane pierce and harriet lane. chain pierce loses her son in a tragic train accident. she spends much of her time in the white house, writing heartbreaking notes to her son. . to laid lived with her -- harriet to lane lived with her uncle. shoes the first to be called first lady in print. jane pierce and harriet lane. examining the public and private lives of the women who filled position of first lady and their

influence on the presidency. from martha washington to michelle obama come on american history tv and c-span3. presidential historians on the lives of 45 iconic american women. it is available as a hardcover or as an e-book. >> 40 years ago, the church committee was established in the aftermath of the watergate candle. up next, a panel discusses the history and legacy of the church committee, including how the senate historical office is collecting oral histories of involved personnel and the impact of the committee findings had on the v