Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die. 

Research:
Besselss, Emil, and William Barr. “Polaris: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73.” University of Calgary Press. 2016.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Francis Hall". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Francis-Hall
Dodge, Ernest S. and C.C. Loomis. “HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hall_charles_francis_10E.html
Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 1.” Nunatsiaq News. Sept. 7, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_1/
Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 2.” Nunatsiaq News. September 14, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_2/
Loomis, Chauncey C. “Weird and tragic shores; the story of Charles Francis Hall, explorer.” New York. Knopf. 1971. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/weirdtragicshore0000loom/page/388/mode/2up
MOSELEY, H.  Besselss' Account of the “Polaris” Expedition1 . Nature 24, 194–197 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024194a0
Niekrasz, Emily. “Wait. Did That Really Happen? Potential Poison on the Polaris.” Smithsonian Institution Archives. August 13, 2020. https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/wait-did-really-happen-potential-poison-polaris
Page, Jake. “Arctic Arsenic.” Smithsonian. Feb. 1, 2001. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/arctic-arsenic-71724451/
Phillips, Braden. “This Arctic murder mystery remains unsolved after 150 years.” National Geographic. Nov. 22, 2022. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/11/this-arctic-murder-mystery-remains-unsolved-after-150-years
“The Story of the Ice.” The New York Herald. Sept. 21, 1873. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1873-09-21/ed-1/seq-5/

Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die. 
Research:
<ul>
<li>Besselss, Emil, and William Barr. “Polaris: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73.” University of Calgary Press. 2016.</li>
<li>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles Francis Hall". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Francis-Hall</li>
<li>Dodge, Ernest S. and C.C. Loomis. “HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hall_charles_francis_10E.html</li>
<li>Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 1.” Nunatsiaq News. Sept. 7, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_1/</li>
<li>Harper, Ken. “Murder at Repulse Bay Part 2.” Nunatsiaq News. September 14, 2007. https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/Murder_at_Repulse_Bay_Part_2/</li>
<li>Loomis, Chauncey C. “Weird and tragic shores; the story of Charles Francis Hall, explorer.” New York. Knopf. 1971. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/weirdtragicshore0000loom/page/388/mode/2up</li>
<li>MOSELEY, H.  Besselss' Account of the “Polaris” Expedition1 . Nature 24, 194–197 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024194a0</li>
<li>Niekrasz, Emily. “Wait. Did That Really Happen? Potential Poison on the Polaris.” Smithsonian Institution Archives. August 13, 2020. https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/wait-did-really-happen-potential-poison-polaris</li>
<li>Page, Jake. “Arctic Arsenic.” Smithsonian. Feb. 1, 2001. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/arctic-arsenic-71724451/</li>
<li>Phillips, Braden. “This Arctic murder mystery remains unsolved after 150 years.” National Geographic. Nov. 22, 2022. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/11/this-arctic-murder-mystery-remains-unsolved-after-150-years</li>
<li>“The Story of the Ice.” The New York Herald. Sept. 21, 1873. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1873-09-21/ed-1/seq-5/</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Charles Francis Hall was inspired by expeditions like Sir John Franklin’s push to find the Northwest Passage, but he repeated the pattern of doom when he made a try for the North Pole – though he was the only one from his expedition to die.

Charles Francis Hall and His Mysterious Arctic Death

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/51c69b24-607e-49b2-8257-b1270177077e/transcript

Pulaski is often built up into an almost mythic figure who represents patriotism, bravery, freedom, independence, and the U.S. as a melting pot. a nation of immigrants. But there’s also a very different version of his story.

Research:
“Benjamin Franklin to George Washington, 29 May 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-24-02-0072. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 24, May 1 through September 30, 1777, ed. William B. Willcox. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1984, p. 98.] https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-24-02-0072
“General Count Casimir Pulaski: ‘The Father of the American Cavalry’: First Commander of Washington’s Cavalry; Commander of the Independent ‘Pulaski’s Legion.’” The American Catholic Historical Researches , JANUARY, 1910, New Series, Vol. 6, No. 1 (JANUARY, 1910). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44374799
American Battlefield Trust. “Casimir Pulaski.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/casimir-pulaski
Britannica Editors. "Confederation of Bar". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederation-of-Bar. Accessed 20 May 2026.
Britannica Editors. "Confederation of Bar". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederation-of-Bar. Accessed 21 May 2026.
Britannica Editors. "Kazimierz Pułaski". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kazimierz-Pulaski. Accessed 20 May 2026.
Britannica Editors. "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Polish-Lithuanian-Commonwealth. Accessed 21 May 2026.
Britannica Editors. "Stanisław II August Poniatowski". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislaw-II-August-Poniatowski. Accessed 21 May 2026.
Byczkiewicz, Romuald K. “For Your Freedom and Ours: Casimir Pulaski, 1745-1779.” Sarmatian Review(Vol. 26, Issue 1).
George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “Casimir Pulaski.” https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/casimir-pulaski
Georgia Southern University. “Georgia Southern researchers solve Casimir Pulaski mysteries, subject of Smithsonian Channel’s ‘America’s Hidden Stories: The General Was Female?’” 3/28/2019. https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/2019/03/28/georgia-southern-researchers-solve-casimir-pulaski-mysteries-subject-of-smithsonian-channels-americas-hidden-stories-the-general-was-female-free-screening-on-arm
Hautzinger, Daniel. “Who Was Casimir Pulaski, the Polish Revolutionary War Hero Honored with a Holiday and Street in Chicago?” WTTW. 11/17/2025. https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2025/11/17/casimir-pulaski-revolutionary-war
Jones, Charles C. Jr. “Casimir Pulaski: An Address Before the Georgia Historical Society.” 1/13/1871. Savannah. 1873. https://polona.pl/item-view/8e95b726-b73c-4a27-9070-d7750b57cc4f
Jones, Charles Colcock. “Sepulture of Major General Nathanael Greene : and of Brig. Gen. Count Casimir Pulaski.” Augusta, Ga, 1855. https://archive.org/details/sepultureofmajor00jonerich/
Kajencki, Francis C. “Casimir Pulaski, Cavalry Commander of the American Revolution.” Southwest Polonia Press. 2002.
Kajencki, Francis C. “The Pulaski Legion in the American Revolution.” Southwest Polonia Press. 2004.
Makarewicz , Stanislaw. “The Four Birth Records of Kazimierz Pulaski.” https://www.poles.org/birth.html
Manning, Clarence A. “Casimir Pulaski, a Soldier of Liberty.” Bulletin of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, January, 1944,Vol. 2, No. 2 (January, 1944). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24725053
Moyer, Del-Louise. “Rebecca Langley and the Pulaski Banner.” Pennsylvania German Blog. 11/22/2015. https://alyssumarts.com/2015/11/22/rebecca-langley-and-the-pulaski-banner/
National Archives. “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 8205, for Eleazer Phillips, South Carolina.” NAID: 196395780. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196395780?
National Park Service. “Casimir Pulaski Memorial.” https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/pulaski.htm
National Park Service. “Casimir Pulaski.” Fort Pulaski National Monument. https://www.nps.gov/people/casimir-pulaski.htm
Pienkos, Angela. “Bicentennial Look at Casimir Pulaski: Polish, American and Ethnic Folk Hero.” Polish American Studies , Spring, 1976, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring, 1976). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20147942
Pinkowski, Jack. “Mysteries Surrounding Casimir Pulaski.” "Bialy Orzel," April 18, 2008, p. 26-27. https://www.poles.org/L_Kaz/E_Kaz.html
Pula, James S. “Pułaski at Savannah: A Journey through Fact and Fiction.” The Polish Review, Vol. 67, No. 4 (2022), pp. 5-33 (29 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48805968
Pula, James S. “Whose Bones Are Those?: The Casimir Pulaski Burial Controversy.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly , 2016, Vol. 100, No. 1 (2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43855885
Somers, Jennifer. “Who was Casimir Pulaski? Why does Illinois celebrate him?” KSDK. 3/6/2023. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/history/casimir-pulaski-day-illinois-meaning-first-monday-in-march/63-2698e93d-1c82-4e42-ac52-4ab47903ccde
Spencer, Richard Henry. “Pulaski's Legion.” Maryland Historical Magazine. September 1918.
Ungvarsky, Janine. “Casimir Pulaski.” Ebsco. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/military-history-and-science/casimir-pulaski
United States Senate. “Ex. Doc. No. 120: Reports of the Secretaries of State, War, an d the Treasury, respecting the services of Count Pulaski.”
Wickham, Jonathan, director. “The General was Female?” Smithsonian Channel - America's Hidden Stories. 4/8/2019.
Williams, Henry. “An address delivered on laying the corner stone of a monument to Pulaski, in the city of Savannah.” Commissioners of the Monument Fund. 1855. https://archive.org/details/addressdelivered00geor/
Wizevich, Eli. “Discover the Short Life and Long Legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish Cavalry Officer Who Became an American Revolutionary Hero.” Smithsonian. 3/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/discover-the-short-life-and-long-legacy-of-casimir-pulaski-a-polish-cavalry-officer-who-became-an-american-revolutionary-hero-180986162/

Pulaski is often built up into an almost mythic figure who represents patriotism, bravery, freedom, independence, and the U.S. as a melting pot. a nation of immigrants. But there&rsquo;s also a very different version of his story.
Research:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;Benjamin Franklin to George Washington, 29 May 1777,&rdquo; Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-24-02-0072. [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 24, May 1 through September 30, 1777, ed. William B. Willcox. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1984, p. 98.] https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-24-02-0072</li>
<li>&ldquo;General Count Casimir Pulaski: &lsquo;The Father of the American Cavalry&rsquo;: First Commander of Washington&rsquo;s Cavalry; Commander of the Independent &lsquo;Pulaski&rsquo;s Legion.&rsquo;&rdquo; The American Catholic Historical Researches , JANUARY, 1910, New Series, Vol. 6, No. 1 (JANUARY, 1910). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44374799</li>
<li>American Battlefield Trust. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/casimir-pulaski</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Confederation of Bar". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederation-of-Bar. Accessed 20 May 2026.</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Confederation of Bar". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederation-of-Bar. Accessed 21 May 2026.</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Kazimierz Pułaski". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kazimierz-Pulaski. Accessed 20 May 2026.</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Polish-Lithuanian-Commonwealth. Accessed 21 May 2026.</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Stanisław II August Poniatowski". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislaw-II-August-Poniatowski. Accessed 21 May 2026.</li>
<li>Byczkiewicz, Romuald K. &ldquo;For Your Freedom and Ours: Casimir Pulaski, 1745-1779.&rdquo; Sarmatian Review(Vol. 26, Issue 1).</li>
<li>George Washington&rsquo;s Mount Vernon. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/casimir-pulaski</li>
<li>Georgia Southern University. &ldquo;Georgia Southern researchers solve Casimir Pulaski mysteries, subject of Smithsonian Channel&rsquo;s &lsquo;America&rsquo;s Hidden Stories: The General Was Female?&rsquo;&rdquo; 3/28/2019. https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/2019/03/28/georgia-southern-researchers-solve-casimir-pulaski-mysteries-subject-of-smithsonian-channels-americas-hidden-stories-the-general-was-female-free-screening-on-arm</li>
<li>Hautzinger, Daniel. &ldquo;Who Was Casimir Pulaski, the Polish Revolutionary War Hero Honored with a Holiday and Street in Chicago?&rdquo; WTTW. 11/17/2025. https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2025/11/17/casimir-pulaski-revolutionary-war</li>
<li>Jones, Charles C. Jr. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski: An Address Before the Georgia Historical Society.&rdquo; 1/13/1871. Savannah. 1873. https://polona.pl/item-view/8e95b726-b73c-4a27-9070-d7750b57cc4f</li>
<li>Jones, Charles Colcock. &ldquo;Sepulture of Major General Nathanael Greene : and of Brig. Gen. Count Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; Augusta, Ga, 1855. https://archive.org/details/sepultureofmajor00jonerich/</li>
<li>Kajencki, Francis C. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski, Cavalry Commander of the American Revolution.&rdquo; Southwest Polonia Press. 2002.</li>
<li>Kajencki, Francis C. &ldquo;The Pulaski Legion in the American Revolution.&rdquo; Southwest Polonia Press. 2004.</li>
<li>Makarewicz , Stanislaw. &ldquo;The Four Birth Records of Kazimierz Pulaski.&rdquo; https://www.poles.org/birth.html</li>
<li>Manning, Clarence A. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski, a Soldier of Liberty.&rdquo; Bulletin of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, January, 1944,Vol. 2, No. 2 (January, 1944). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24725053</li>
<li>Moyer, Del-Louise. &ldquo;Rebecca Langley and the Pulaski Banner.&rdquo; Pennsylvania German Blog. 11/22/2015. https://alyssumarts.com/2015/11/22/rebecca-langley-and-the-pulaski-banner/</li>
<li>National Archives. &ldquo;Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 8205, for Eleazer Phillips, South Carolina.&rdquo; NAID: 196395780. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196395780?</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski Memorial.&rdquo; https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/pulaski.htm</li>
<li>National Park Service. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; Fort Pulaski National Monument. https://www.nps.gov/people/casimir-pulaski.htm</li>
<li>Pienkos, Angela. &ldquo;Bicentennial Look at Casimir Pulaski: Polish, American and Ethnic Folk Hero.&rdquo; Polish American Studies , Spring, 1976, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring, 1976). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20147942</li>
<li>Pinkowski, Jack. &ldquo;Mysteries Surrounding Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; "Bialy Orzel," April 18, 2008, p. 26-27. https://www.poles.org/L_Kaz/E_Kaz.html</li>
<li>Pula, James S. &ldquo;Pułaski at Savannah: A Journey through Fact and Fiction.&rdquo; The Polish Review, Vol. 67, No. 4 (2022), pp. 5-33 (29 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48805968</li>
<li>Pula, James S. &ldquo;Whose Bones Are Those?: The Casimir Pulaski Burial Controversy.&rdquo; The Georgia Historical Quarterly , 2016, Vol. 100, No. 1 (2016). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43855885</li>
<li>Somers, Jennifer. &ldquo;Who was Casimir Pulaski? Why does Illinois celebrate him?&rdquo; KSDK. 3/6/2023. https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/history/casimir-pulaski-day-illinois-meaning-first-monday-in-march/63-2698e93d-1c82-4e42-ac52-4ab47903ccde</li>
<li>Spencer, Richard Henry. &ldquo;Pulaski's Legion.&rdquo; Maryland Historical Magazine. September 1918.</li>
<li>Ungvarsky, Janine. &ldquo;Casimir Pulaski.&rdquo; Ebsco. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/military-history-and-science/casimir-pulaski</li>
<li>United States Senate. &ldquo;Ex. Doc. No. 120: Reports of the Secretaries of State, War, an d the Treasury, respecting the services of Count Pulaski.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Wickham, Jonathan, director. &ldquo;The General was Female?&rdquo; Smithsonian Channel - America's Hidden Stories. 4/8/2019.</li>
<li>Williams, Henry. &ldquo;An address delivered on laying the corner stone of a monument to Pulaski, in the city of Savannah.&rdquo; Commissioners of the Monument Fund. 1855. https://archive.org/details/addressdelivered00geor/</li>
<li>Wizevich, Eli. &ldquo;Discover the Short Life and Long Legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish Cavalry Officer Who Became an American Revolutionary Hero.&rdquo; Smithsonian. 3/6/2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/discover-the-short-life-and-long-legacy-of-casimir-pulaski-a-polish-cavalry-officer-who-became-an-american-revolutionary-hero-180986162/</li>
</ul>

Pulaski is often built up into an almost mythic figure who represents patriotism, bravery, freedom, independence, and the U.S. as a melting pot. a nation of immigrants. But there’s also a very different version of his story.

The Life and Afterlife of Casimir Pulaski

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/23c00b00-5a0f-48cf-a893-b468017944a7/transcript

This 2022 episode covers the 1901 discovery of  Ada Maria Redpath and her son Jocelyn Clifford dead in their home. What exactly happened between the two of them is something we will likely never understand.

This 2022 episode covers the 1901 discovery of&nbsp; Ada Maria Redpath and her son Jocelyn Clifford dead in their home. What exactly happened between the two of them is something we will likely never understand.

SYMHC Classics: Redpath Murders

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f5f0dcae-6f8d-4db8-891b-b46500432904/transcript

Holly and Tracy talk about how frequently the U.S. Post Office has stopped criminals, and about E. Virgil Neal using his intellect for shady business dealings.

Holly and Tracy talk about how frequently the U.S. Post Office has stopped criminals, and about E. Virgil Neal using his intellect for shady business dealings.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Piece of Work

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5dcc5609-22c2-434b-8949-b46500431d4f/transcript

Charles Francis Hall and His Mysterious Arctic Death

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