Legends & Lies

A profile of Jesse James.

A profile of John Henry "Doc" Holliday includes the gunfight at the O.K. corral.

A profile of James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok features his reputation as a marksman and penchant for gambling.

A profile of Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson (1809-68) explores his reputation as a mountain man, wilderness guide and Army officer.

A profile of Davy Crockett (1786-1836), a frontiersman, politician and folk hero, who died at the Battle of the Alamo.

A profile of Black Bart, a notorious stagecoach robber in the Old West.

When the oppressive hand of British rule begins to trample on colonial liberty, a secret group of rebels put their lives on the line to stand up to the crown. The “Sons of Liberty” get their start as smugglers who refuse to pay repressive taxes, but they soon evolve into an underground political force - fighting for American independence. Masterminds Paul Revere and Sam Adams lead the insurgent movement as their treasonous plans - punishable by death – secretly spread throughout the colonies. The simmering tensions erupt into chaos when a British customs agent murders an 11 year-old boy, triggering three days of riots and the infamous Boston Massacre. The American Revolution has begun.

Lawyer John Adams represents the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre in 1770; colonists protest the Tea Act of 1773; the American Revolution begins in April 1775 at the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

A profile of Benjamin Franklin includes his frequent trips to Europe; influence in the Second Continental Congress; and role in the American Revolution.

George Washington's exploits as commander of the Continental Army, including his first victory in Boston and subsequent defeat in New York, are examined.

Thomas Jefferson becomes the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, which is used as a rallying cry by George Washington for his troops, during a desperate 1776 campaign to keep New York from falling into British hands.

Benedict Arnold goes from a respected Continental Army general to America's most notorious traitor thanks to his plot to surrender West Point to the British and switch sides.

Spotlighting radical abolitionist John Brown, as he raids Harper's Ferry, setting the scene for the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln becomes frustrated with his cautious commander, George McClellan, whose army gets routed at Manassas, Va.; Confederate Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson earns his nickname.

Robert E. Lee, who once turned down command of Northern forces, becomes the top Confederate general; Ulysses S. Grant scores Union victories in the West.

Former slave Frederick Douglass pushes President Abraham Lincoln to free his people; Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, after the bloody Battle of Antietam.

A Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, Va. comes at a high price; a Southern bullet accidentally mortally wounds Stonewall Jackson.

The North turns back the South's invasion; a heroic bayonet charge led by Maine's Joshua Chamberlain; the doomed Confederate charge led by Gen. George Pickett.