America's Hidden Stories (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - The General was Female? - full transcript
Casimir Pulaski was an American Revolutionary War hero who helped save George Washington's life in the Battle of Brandywine. He was known as the "Father of the American Cavalry," but new ...
(Dramatic music)
(Pulaski yelling)
Narrator: His riding
skills were legendary.
Wilson: Pulaski was the
father of American cavalry,
a very flamboyant,
larger-than-life personality.
Narrator: His contribution
to the revolutionary
war incalculable.
Shores: We can probably
credit him
with saving George
washington's life.
Paintings and statues celebrate
his military prowess, and yet.
Merbs: I don't think
people today
know very much about him at all.
I. Powell: Which stone was it
that you thought the
body might be buried in?
Narrator: But then
a collapsing monument
began to shed startling new
light on this forgotten hero.
C. Powell: And the skull is
staring up at you,
that was pretty exciting.
Narrator: Today,
scientists and historians
are struggling to resolve
a tantalizing mystery.
Estabrook: What I saw were bones
that looked biologically female.
Narrator: Was
general pulaski a woman?
Is someone else
buried in his tomb?
Or is the answer
more complicated?
Moore: This revolutionary
war hero
may not have been who
everyone thought he was.
Narrator: History
may be more shocking
than we ever imagined.
Today, technology forces the
past to give up its secrets.
Newly discovered documents
turn history on its head,
and discoveries in
ancient archives
reveal startling
stories we never knew.
(Tense music)
In one of savannah's
iconic squares
stands a soaring monument
to a revolutionary hero
you may never have heard of,
brigadier general
casimir pulaski.
He was once the toast of
the young United States,
the father of the
American cavalry
whose bravery and brilliance
may have saved George
washington's life.
Shores: He was small but he was
also incredibly strong
and incredibly skilled
and was willing to
lead people by example,
lead out in front, and
lead the other charges.
Narrator: The Polish-born
nobleman had come to America
to fight for freedom.
With his signature
hit-and-run raids,
he saved the day
at the battles of
brandywine and Charleston.
But behind the bold
strategist was a solitary man.
Merbs: He had no interaction
with females as far as we know,
he was a difficult person.
He just didn't take
orders very well,
but he was brilliant
at giving orders.
Narrator: On the morning
of October 9th, 1779,
here in Savannah, pulaski peers
into the Cannon smoke ahead.
When he sees the attack is
faltering he rallies his men
as they charge towards a
well-entrenched British force,
pulaski is gunned down.
He was just 34 years old.
It's a debt of gratitude
the citizens of Savannah
never wanted to forget,
honoring him at the replica
of the spring hill
redoubt where he fell,
and with this majestic
monument in monterey square.
Wilson: Casimir pulaski was
well liked
among many of the
people who met him,
and they looked
at him as a martyr
of the American revolution.
Narrator: But by 1996,
the pulaski monument
was crumbling and needed repair.
And that's when the mystery
surrounding the father of
the American cavalry began
for Chuck Powell and
his daughter, Lisa.
I. Powell: So, this is where it
all started 22 years ago?
C. Powell: That's correct.
The monument was in
really bad repair,
and they were gonna
have to take it down,
and we knew from historical
research that the remains
that were claimed to
be pulaski's
were inside this monument.
I. Powell: How did you know
where to look for it?
C. Powell well, let's go inside
and I'll show you.
I. Powell: Okay.
Narrator: Chuck Powell had
been appointed coordinator
of the pulaski
identification committee
by his friend and
colleague Dr. James metts.
Reporter: A team of
forensic professionals
led by chatham county
coroner James metts
plans to lay the
mystery to rest.
Narrator: The first mystery
the committee needed to solve?
Were there even human remains
inside the monument?
C. Powell: I was really excited.
I didn't really know that much
about the history of
pulaski, nor the monument.
I. Powell: I think a lot
of people thought
that even though
they said there was,
they weren't really
gonna be sure
until they opened it up, was
there a body in there or not.
Narrator: That story originated
with colonel William Bowen.
In an extensive 1850's
report, he claimed pulaski
had originally been buried
on his family's plantation.
Years later, Bowen
disinterred the remains
and put them in a metal
case, hermetically sealed,
and placed within the plinth
alongside the cornerstone.
I. Powell: Which stone was it
that you thought the
body might be buried in?
C. Powell: Well, what we knew
from the conservator
is that once this stone
right here was removed,
the inside of the
monument would be exposed,
so that's where we thought
we would find them.
Narrator: On September 27, 1996,
the base of the monument
is finally opened.
C. Powell: And we looked
down inside
and in that corner
was a metal container.
Narrator: Karen
burns is a well-reputed
forensic anthropologist who
had participated in a search
for the lost flyer
Amelia earhart
and helped identify
human remains after 9-11.
She goes down with
conservator James wermuth
to examine the container.
It's in terrible condition,
badly corroded by rain water
seeping into the monument.
Hours later, with the
rusty iron lid removed,
they get their first
glimpse inside.
C. Powell: Kar said, oh my
goodness, we really have bones.
And the skull is
staring up at you
with the wide set
orbit of the eyes.
Narrator: To the team,
those eyes bear an
uncanny resemblance
to an early portrait of pulaski.
Russell: It was sort of like
a macabre treasure hunt
or something to find
all these bones.
And they were mainly long bones.
Narrator: The next
day in a state crime lab,
forensic anthropologist
Karen burns begins to examine
the bones of what looks
like a complete skeleton.
C. Powell: She started laying
them out,
and Dr. Metts and I happened
to come in right at the time
where she had finally
gotten down to the pelvis.
And she said, oh, Dr. Metts,
you'll have to shoot
me, it's a woman.
It's not pulaski.
Narrator: The
investigation team is stunned.
Russell: I was very,
very excited
about it being the
bones of pulaski.
When I learned from
Karen that the pelvis
was probably of a female,
then I was downtrodden.
C. Powell: Me personally, what I
thought was, well, it's over.
You know, it can't be pulaski.
Whoever they dug up was a woman.
Narrator: The bones
aren't pulaski's.
So, whose are they?
And where's pulaski?
While examining the
skeleton, the county coroner
remembered an illustration
in a medical text.
The condition, congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
The result, a person with
mixed sexual characteristics.
In 18th century terms,
a hermaphrodite.
When the team compared
the medical illustration
to a portrait of pulaski,
they were shocked.
Could that explain why the
father of the American cavalry
had female-looking bones?
For more than 10 years,
Karen burns tried to get to
the bottom of the mystery.
In 2012, she died suddenly
still searching for
a definitive answer.
For Chuck Powell, it looked
like the investigation was over.
I. Powell: When dad decided to
retire the project,
I begged him not to.
He said, do you have people
that would be interested
in working with you to
help complete this project?
And I said, I do.
(Mysterious music)
Narrator: A new
investigation team
is ready to begin their
own journey of discovery.
Estabrook: Lisa came up to
me and was like,
I have this project that
involves bones and a mystery,
will you help me?
Narrator: Joining
Virginia estabrook
is fellow anthropologist
Megan Moore.
Moore: I met kar burns in 2000,
and she was already
talking about this case
of casimir pulaski and
that this pelvis is female.
Narrator: The
two are on their way
to Chuck powell's summer cottage
on tybee island just
outside Savannah.
(Anticipatory music)
Estabrook: Hi, Lisa.
I. Powell: Hey, Virginia.
Dad, this is Dr. Virginia
estabrook, Chuck Powell.
Narrator: Chuck Powell is
thrilled a younger generation
is taking up the
unsolved mystery.
Estabrook: You have
all of these boxes
c. Powell: Yes.
Estabrook: From the first.
C. Powell: These boxes represent
10 years of work.
Narrator: The new team
plans to treat it
as a cold case,
re-evaluating all the evidence,
beginning with the skull.
C. Powell: As anthropologists,
you're probably interested...
Narrator: A new anthropology
team is eager to find out
if this skeleton from
the monument in Savannah
is an unknown woman
or revolutionary war
general, casimir pulaski.
C. Powell: So, one of the first
things that we have,
this cast of the skull that
we found in the monument.
Narrator: One thing
is immediately obvious.
Estabrook: It's a relatively
young person.
We can tell that because
all these sutures
along the skull are not fused,
which is consistent with
being relatively young.
Narrator: Pulaski was
only 34 when he died.
The teeth, even though
most are missing,
tell a similar story.
Moore: All three molars
being present.
That would be a good indication
that this is a
younger individual.
Narrator: A younger
individual who,
according to Karen burns'
measurements, was also short,
little more than five
feet tall, like pulaski.
C. Powell: The next part of
the skeleton, she said, oh...
Narrator: But when Chuck
Powell shows them the pelvis,
they have the same reaction
as Karen burns.
C. Powell: In the pelvis.
Moore: Wow.
Estabrook: Oh, yeah.
C. Powell: Yeah. (All laughing)
Yes. Moore: I would agree,
I would agree, this is a
very, very feminine pelvis.
C. Powell: Yeah.
Moore: The widening
here of the pubic bone
to create a larger space
for the birth canal.
Estabrook: If I were just
handed this pelvis.
What I saw were bones
that looked really
biologically female.
If they'd been found
in any other context,
I would have been pretty sure
that we were dealing
with a female skeleton.
Reporter: Chatham county
coroner James metts plans...
Narrator: Which makes
the shocking theory,
advanced by one member
of the original investigation
team to explain this,
all the more intriguing.
C. Powell: Dr. Metts said to
kar burns,
and he said, you know, it could
be that it's still pulaski,
but he had this condition and
he brought back this article.
Moore: Okay, so congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
Narrator: Congenital
adrenal hyperplasia
is a condition that occurs
in individuals of both sexes,
but its effects are
most obvious in females.
In an effort to boost cortisol,
a hormone needed for
coping with stress,
the adrenal glands also produce
high levels of the male
hormone, testosterone.
Vilain: And by doing that,
they will masculinize
the external genitalia
of a genetic female.
And other parts of
the body, the hair.
Narrator: Was this the condition
causing pulaski's outwardly
masculine appearance?
Dreger: There were many cases
I found historically
in the literature
where doctors were
surprised to discover
somebody who was a man
and then discovered
that internally they had
ovaries and a uterus.
Viloria: We used to be
called hermaphrodites,
after the Greek myth
of hermaphrodites,
but a lot of people
dislike that term
or feel that it's outdated,
and so today, we do
universally prefer intersex.
Narrator: Hida viloria was born
with some of the same
ambiguous sexual features
that congenital adrenal
hyperplasia produces.
Viloria: Originally, I was
assigned as a girl
and raised as a girl
because my family decided I
was more female physically,
and then later on, I actually
went through a period
of about four years
of living as a man.
I feel like I could have easily
put myself in pulaski's shoes.
C. Powell: Georgia
historical society.
Narrator: Could pulaski
have been intersex?
C. Powell: Of pulaski and
presented it to the committee.
Narrator: Chuck
Powell shows the new team
an early portrait of him.
Estabrook: Oh wow, wow.
C. Powell: And a
striking resemblance
between the two really kind
of made everyone's jaw drop.
Moore: Yeah, and it even looks
like there might even
be some breast tissue there
hidden underneath the uniform.
Narrator: It prompts them
to take another
look at the skull,
comparing it to a
second pulaski portrait.
Moore: You don't see
a pronounced brow Ridge,
so that would be a more
feminine kind of characteristic.
Estabrook: Wow.
Moore: The facial hair,
even the hairstyle.
Narrator: The first
investigative team
wanted to know
if there was anything in
pulaski's personal history
to suggest he had congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
C. Powell: In going back to
Poland to find records,
one of our researchers
came across
this record of his baptism.
(Baby cries)
Narrator: March 6th,
1745, casimir pulaski is born
at a country estate
outside Warsaw,
the second son of a
prominent noble family.
But there's something not
quite right about the child.
A priest is summoned.
After anointing the infant, he
records the baptism in Latin.
It was performed at home
because of what the
document calls a debility.
Viloria: Well, that's a very,
very typical story
amongst intersex people
where there's some kind of
statement at their birth,
or shortly thereafter, of a
deficiency or an abnormality.
Narrator: Fortunately the
baby is otherwise healthy.
A sign it didn't have
the life-threatening
form of the condition.
The unusual circumstances
of pulaski's birth
prompted investigators
to dig deeper
into his Polish heritage.
It led them to the grave
of Teresa witkowska,
pulaski's grand niece.
Moore: Kar burns went to Poland
and recovered some
bone fragments
from a maternal relative
of casimir pulaski.
Narrator: Burns wanted
to conduct a DNA test
comparing them to a bone sample
from the pulaski monument.
C. Powell: So, we sent those to
several laboratories.
No one was able to extract
what's called readable
mitochondrial DNA
from either sample
narrator: In Virginia
estabrook's lab,
the team prepares to examine
the contents of a box
that's been in storage
for over 10 years.
Estabrook: Opening up
the evidence seal, okay.
Narrator: So far they've
only been able to examine casts.
Inside, they hope to find
actual pieces of bone,
preserved for future analysis
while the rest of the
skeleton was re-buried.
Estabrook: We have a note.
It says, enclosed you will
find the pulaski remains
that were in the custody
of Dr. Karen burns.
There was a green cooler.
It was really exciting
to open up this box,
and it was a little
scary too actually
because I didn't know
what had been preserved.
We have one zip lock bag
labeled casimir pulaski
from monument on
monterey square,
right femur proximal segment.
Narrator: It's a good omen.
To conduct a new DNA test,
the team needs
viable bone samples.
Estabrook: Okay,
here's witkowska tooth.
Narrator: Samples from pulaski's
grandniece are here too.
Estabrook: So,
everything that's in here
is in sterile bags, we're
not gonna contaminate it.
We're good, so we can at least
take off the masks, thank god.
So, let's review what we have.
Moore: We were more optimistic
attempting the DNA today
because some of the
ancient DNA labs
have had so much success
with specimens that
are 30,000 years old.
(Suspenseful music)
Narrator: They select two
of the most promising samples,
a femur section from
the pulaski monument
and a tooth from the
pulaski relative, witkowska.
Sequencing their DNA could
solve this 200-year-old mystery.
(Mysterious music)
Investigators are
trying to determine
if revolutionary war
hero casimir pulaski
was female or intersex.
Along with DNA testing and
anthropological techniques,
they're delving further
into the historical record.
Despite questions
surrounding his birth,
pulaski is raised
as a normal male.
Even more than his two brothers,
he excels as a horseman.
Shores: Poland has a very,
very rich history
in cavalry traditions,
and that was very much a part
of Polish nobleman's life.
So pulaski would've spent a
significant portion of his youth
practicing all those
skills, riding horseback,
learning about archery,
lances, and swords and sabers.
Narrator: In his early 20s,
he began applying
those skills to war.
Poland had been invaded
by the Russian czar,
and pulaski joined the fight
against the foreign tyrant.
Wilson: Pulaski was what you
would call
a Polish revolutionary.
He fought against foreign
domination of his country.
(Pulaski screaming)
Shores: Some people accused
him of being too brash,
others said that
it was pure bravery
that led him to victory
in so many of his battles.
Narrator: His bold leadership
style came at a price.
Shores: Pulaski mentions in
one letter specifically
that had to actually
be transcribed for him
because his right
hand had been injured
in the previous battle.
Narrator: But by 1772, the
uprising in Poland is failing.
With a bounty on his head,
pulaski flees the country,
eventually finding his way
to the American
delegation in Paris.
Wilson: Where Benjamin
Franklin said,
hey, this is a guy that might be
of some service to us, some use.
And they sent him to America
along with letters
of recommendation.
Narrator: Arriving in
marblehead, Massachusetts,
pulaski travels south,
skirting British-held New York,
to reach washington's
camp outside Philadelphia.
Earle: He arrives
in Philadelphia,
he finds Washington.
What happens then?
Narrator: Graphic artist
Edmund earle is helping
historians major Douglas
shores and David Wilson
track a new mystery, how an
obscure Polish cavalry officer
rapidly becomes a hero of
the American revolution.
At first, pulaski
gets the cold shoulder
from the American high command.
Shores: Pulaski thinks that
congress knows all about him
and that he should be a shoe in
to become the other leader of
the American cavalry.
Narrator: But he finds he's one
of hundreds of foreigners,
all clamoring for a commission
from George Washington.
Wilson: Washington was
pretty concerned
about taking just
the best of the best.
Congress seemed to be more
inclined to forward people,
saying, hey, here's another
great guy from Europe.
Why don't you take
a look at him?
Earle: Given that he needs
to be vetted like this,
how does he end up getting it?
Shores: So, it actually wasn't
until the battle of brandywine.
Narrator: On September 11, 1777,
a powerful British force
attacks washington's army
south of Philadelphia
at brandywine creek.
Pulaski is there more
or less as an observer.
He watches as the
British attempt
to flank the American position,
putting Washington
himself in grave danger.
Shores: The British had
basically,
were routing the
Americans at that time
and getting ready to envelop
and overtake all the
American positions.
Wilson: And so, Washington
kinda said, you know,
hey, here's an
opportunity pulaski.
Get out there, show
me what you can do.
See if you can stop these guys
who are gonna be cutting
off the American retreat.
Earle: He proves himself in the
field directly to Washington.
Shores: Right.
(Dramatic music)
Narrator: For stalling
the British advance,
Washington summons pulaski
to thank him personally.
Shores: Had pulaski not
done this action,
George Washington very well
may have been captured
during this time.
We can probably credit him
with saving George
washington's life
at the battle of brandywine.
Narrator: Within two days,
pulaski is made
brigadier general
in charge of all
washington's cavalry,
where he champions
training, discipline,
and his own hit-and-run tactics.
Since pulaski was such an
outstanding horse rider,
Virginia estabrook
wonders if the bones
recovered from the monument
show any traces
of that activity.
Estabrook: The effects
of horseback riding
on the acetabulum.
Narrator: She's asked for help
from fellow anthropologist,
Charles merbs.
Merbs: In a position, the head
of the femur is forced upward,
and it changes the shape a bit,
but it also will leave
kind of a scar right here,
and that's what we see
in the pulaski femur.
Estabrook: That's fascinating.
So, when it goes in,
it would be sort of.
Merbs: It's pushing upwards.
Estabrook: This flexion.
Merbs: Yeah. Estabrooks:
Lots of flexion constantly.
Merbs: Right and pushing upward.
Estabrook: Yeah.
Narrator: Merbs
also sees arthritis
and other telltale
signs of wear.
Merbs: So, the evidence here
suggests this skeleton
was the skeleton of someone
who probably grew up on horses
and certainly was
a horseback rider.
Narrator: Charles merbs had
originally helped Karen burns
try to unravel the mystery
of the female pelvis.
Right away, he noticed
something unusual
when he compared it to
another female pelvis.
Merbs: These little
depressions right here.
We call those parturition scars
and they indicate
that this individual
has given birth to children.
Now, despite the fact that
with the pulaski pelvis
the characteristics
are basically female,
there are no parturition scars.
Narrator: Some
births leave no scars,
but still it does match
pulaski's profile.
He never married and seemed
to prefer his own company.
Merbs: In other groups.
Now, in this case.
Narrator: The anthropology team
has identified other features
consistent with what they
know of the cavalry leader.
Merbs: This indicates
some kind of trauma.
Narrator: A blow to the skull,
possibly received in battle,
and an injury to the right hand.
Merbs: It had undergone a
fracture and did not heal well.
Narrator: It matches
the one received by pulaski
while fighting in Poland.
Merbs: Everything we found in
the skeleton,
other than the sex,
is consistent with that skeleton
being the skeleton
of casimir pulaski.
Hershberger: Now,
how tall are you?
Viloria: Almost 5'4".
Hershberger: 5
'4", which I think
is the exact height
of pulaski himself.
Viloria: Ha, this is a weskit.
Narrator: Hida viloria is
taking part in an experiment
with wardrobe expert
Kevin hershberger.
Hershberger: So, what we're
trying to do is,
we're trying to dress
you just like pulaski
to make you look just
like a man in uniform
with all of the layers
and all of the distinctive
insignia and all the trim
so that no one would
give you a second look.
Viloria: So, what is this coat?
Why does it have this
particular design?
Hershberger: This is a very
common, traditional eastern
European coat.
It's called a
dolman or an Attila.
Viloria: Fits great!
I think it would
have been very easy,
in those days in particular,
with things like the big
shirts and the coats,
and we have other
stories of people
who successfully lived
as another gender
until they finally discovered
in an autopsy after their death
that they were not who
everyone thought they were.
Hershberger: So, this is called
a busbee,
and it's kind of the final
piece to finish you off.
Viloria: Wow, my god.
I feel so tall and regal.
Hershberger: You can definitely
pass for a soldier, I think.
Viloria: Cool.
Hershberger: Absolutely
(gentle music)
Narrator: By march 1779,
the war of independence
has reached a critical stage.
Stalled in the north, the
British have moved south,
hoping to divide the country
and spark a loyalist uprising.
Pulaski is eager to engage
them with his elite new force,
combining cavalry and
infantry, the pulaski legion.
He persuades his commanders
to let him head south
to thwart the British advance.
Shores: The British have already
taken over Savannah
and are starting to
move forces north.
Narrator: They've set
their sights on Charleston.
After a grueling
two-month journey,
pulaski and his legion
arrive may 8th, 1779
in south carolina's
beleaguered capital.
Its citizens are
terrified of the redcoats.
Wilson: They were convinced that
there were 8,000 British troops
outside the city and they were
on the verge of surrendering.
Shores: However, pulaski brings
his troops down there,
the newly outfitted
pulaski legion.
Although tired from their march,
they really revived
the city spirits.
Earle: So, he arrives in
Charleston with great fanfare,
and then what happens?
Wilson: So, pulaski takes
his legion,
about 60 infantry
and 60 cavalry,
and they march out to meet
this British recon force.
Narrator: Even though the legion
suffers heavy losses, pulaski,
with his small stature,
puts on a dazzling display.
Shores: In fact, it was
somewhat of an advantage
because the smaller
frame, lighter body
would've made the horse
more maneuverable.
(Pulaski screams)
Wilson: People were impressed
by his courage
and the fact that he was willing
to take on this actually
much larger British force.
Narrator: But his
bold action succeeds.
The next day, the British
withdraw back to Savannah.
In a snow-covered landscape,
more like pulaski's
native Poland,
stands lakehead
university's paleo-DNA lab.
(Mysterious music)
Fratpietro: We're
going to just incubate
the bone powder in the liquid.
Lab chief Stephen fratpietro
is trying to determine
if the monument skeleton
is in fact casimir pulaski,
despite its female appearance.
The DNA is too degraded
to determine sex,
so he's using another method
to reach a conclusion.
Megan Moore has come to find
out if the effort has paid off.
Moore: This is gonna be
an exciting moment.
Fratpietro: Hi, Megan.
Why don't you come around here,
so you can take a look
at what we got for you.
So, you sent us a bone from
the pulaski monument sample.
It's probably all
contaminated on the end,
so what I did was I cut
off the end to remove that.
Narrator: Getting DNA
from the femur section
still proved difficult.
Fratpietro: I could tell that
the DNA contained within
the samples
was fairly degraded,
and the problem was that when
we were replicating the DNA,
we would find different
areas of damage.
Narrator: Despite
the challenges,
Stephen has had some success.
Fratpietro: So, what we've
got here is
the mitochondrial DNA profile
of the pulaski monument
femur that was sent to us.
Narrator: Unlike nuclear
DNA, mitochondrial DNA
is inherited exclusively
through the maternal side.
So, the profile from the
femur should match the tooth
from pulaski's grandniece,
Teresa witkowska.
Fratpietro: Just give me
a minute.
Okay, so as you can see,
we have two very different
mitochondrial DNA profiles.
So, they are not
maternally related.
Moore: That's disappointing.
Narrator: The base
letters don't match.
So, the monument skeleton
can't be pulaski.
I. Powell: Personally, it
was devastating.
As far as the project goes,
everything just came
to a screeching halt.
Estabrook: The results were
really confusing
and didn't seem to make
sense for the context.
Narrator: They
contradict all the evidence
the team has gathered,
the individual's age,
battle injuries, and
years in the saddle.
Merbs: I mean, everything
with this skeleton
is consistent with this
being casimir pulaski.
Narrator: So, maybe the
problem lies with the DNA test.
In fact, there's something
odd about both DNA profiles.
Mitochondrial profiles fall
into what are called haplogroups
and are associated with
particular geographical regions.
Fratpietro: From the pulaski
monument remains sample profile,
we're predicting it to
belong to haplogroup m,
which can commonly be found
amongst Asian populations.
Moore: Which is not what
we would expect
from a monument from Savannah,
revolutionary war era.
Fratpietro: Mm.
Narrator: The haplogroup
for the witkowska profile
is equally bewildering,
haplogroup f.
Fratpietro: Commonly in
Chinese and Japanese people.
Moore: So, both findings
are surprising
because this one came
out of a tomb in Poland.
With...
Narrator: Megan Moore
thinks she knows why.
And it means
there's still a way
forward with DNA.
Moore: We were afraid
there might be
an issue of contamination
that was causing these
unexpected results.
The original bone
samples that were sent
had been cut or had been broken,
so there was a possibility
of contamination
from previous lab analyses.
Narrator: But unlike those
earlier labs, paleo-DNA lab
has proved it can
successfully extract DNA.
A good reason to try again.
Stephen receives new samples,
where contamination
is minimized.
Intact foot bones from
the pulaski monument
and his grandniece.
This may be a last
chance to determine
if the remains in the
monument really are pulaski's.
In the fall of 1779,
for pulaski too, the
stakes couldn't be higher.
Ahead lies his most
important assignment
of the revolutionary war.
In September 1779,
after successfully
defending Charleston
pulaski and other American
army units march south.
There they'll meet
up with a new ally.
Earle: So, after Charleston,
I see he's headed
south to Savannah.
Well, why Savannah,
what's there?
Wilson: The British had
occupied Savannah,
but more importantly, in 1778,
as a result of the American
victory at saratoga,
the French have joined
the American alliance.
Narrator: For the first
time, American and French forces
will fight side by side.
With his European
background and experience,
pulaski is picked to
meet the French general,
count d'estaing, who
has begun landing
over 4,000 troops a few
miles south of Savannah.
Earle: So they build up, and
I've got them travel up north.
So, here is the
British fortifications,
and south, we've
got the Americans.
Narrator: When the
attack is finally launched
on October 9th, 1779, nothing
goes according to plan.
Wilson: Dawn started to break,
d'estaing was afraid
that his army was
gonna be discovered,
and so instead of waiting
for the entire army
to get aligned and ready to
attack across a broad front,
d'estaing took his avant-garde,
which was just one battalion
of a few hundred guys,
and attacked just
with those guys.
Narrator: The
French attack focuses
on the heavily defended
spring hill redoubt.
Pulaski and his legion
lead the American column,
which is still
moving into position.
He tries to make out whether
the French are succeeding
against heavy British
Cannon and musket fire.
Shores: Pulaski was charged
with trying to break the lines
and penetrate into the city.
So, as the attack falters,
pulaski kind of decides
that it's now or never.
Narrator: What happens
next is uncertain.
Pulaski may have lead
a desperate charge.
Or he may have been scouting
forward with a handful of men.
Whatever his intention, it fails
to turn the tide of battle.
Wilson: The Americans and
the French suffered
an incredibly bad defeat
at the siege of Savannah.
It rivaled bunker hill in the
number of killed and wounded,
over 800 on the French
and American sides.
Narrator: Most
prominent among them,
general casimir pulaski.
Just yards from the spring
hill redoubt, he falls,
fatally wounded by a piece
of British grapeshot.
According to one story, this
is that deadly iron ball.
Lisa Powell and fellow
researcher Dan Elliott
are using modern technology
to test the claim.
Elliott: It was taken out
of his body
by a south Carolina
surgeon named James lynah.
And from his
grandson, I believe,
was donated to the
Georgia historical society
along with a little pouch
that was made from some of
the clothing of pulaski.
Narrator: By directing
a laser beam at the object,
this portable analyzer can
detect its metal content.
Elliott: They're trying
to make cast iron,
but then, they're also
getting copper and nickel
and various other elements
are getting in the mix.
Narrator: That
mix will determine
if it came from a
British gun or not.
But there's a problem.
Elliott: That cast iron ball has
been mounted in that candlestick
with that silver wire holding
it in for well over 100 years,
so it's had time
to do a little...
I. Powell: Leaching.
Elliott: Migration of the
elements between the two.
Well, here's silver.
So, you can see silver's
going off the charts.
That's compared to these
other minor elements
that are in here.
Iron is this other
gigantic peak over here.
Much higher than
the silver peak.
Narrator: Even so the
evidence is promising.
Elliott: The contaminants it's
showing on the ball
is consistent with
a lot of the other
revolutionary war balls
that we've already sampled.
Narrator: And the high
levels of nickel, tin, and zinc
show it was cast in
a British foundry.
But whether it's the actual
grapeshot that killed pulaski,
is, for now, impossible to say.
(Tense music)
But what happens to him in
his final hours, even days,
could provide vital clues
about who this enigmatic
hero really was.
C. Powell: Pulaski was brought
out here
and probably tended in
the mansion at greenwich.
Narrator: Chuck
Powell and another member
of the original investigation
team, Dr. Preston Russell,
have come to the last known
place pulaski was taken.
C. Powell: So, we know that he
was mortally wounded,
and that he was transported
off of the battlefield
to a place called
greenwich plantation,
which had been set
aside as a hospital.
Narrator: Today, greenwich
plantation is a cemetery.
A fountain, itself a replica,
is all that remains
to Mark the site
of the old plantation home
that stood here in 1779.
Russell: So, the house must have
been pretty near, is that right?
C. Powell: Yeah, we know that it
had a view toward the river,
so it probably sat
right back there.
Narrator: Fearing
capture by the British
if he remains with
retreating the American army,
pulaski throws in his
lot with the French.
One of their
surgeons attends him,
trying to treat his
badly bleeding wound.
A version of what
may have happened
next to the wounded cavalryman
is given in a report
by colonel William Bowen,
the man who helped raise
the monument to
pulaski decades later.
C. Powell: We also know from
reading bowens' account
of that particular night,
he had an eye witness.
Russell: It was Elizabeth Bowen,
right, the granddaughter.
C. Powell: Yeah, it was.
Russell: She was like
14 years old or something.
C. Powell: Yeah.
So, she says that she heard
that pulaski was dead.
And then, she witnessed
a torch-lit ceremony
to take his body and Bury it
back behind the
plantation house.
Narrator: The girl,
bowen's future aunt,
watched slaves carry pulaski
into an ornamental garden
and Bury him under some trees.
By family tradition,
the area became known
as the grave of pulaski.
But a second more
widely circulated story
describes a different
end for pulaski.
After a few days,
still alive but barely,
he was carried down to the wasp,
an American cargo ship docked
in the Wilmington river
and bound for Charleston.
When he soon died, the
foul stench of gangrene
became so offensive,
the crew felt compelled
to cast his body into the waves.
Wilson: I find that to be the
least likely of the scenarios
simply because pulaski
was too important a person
to be thrown overboard on a ship
on the very short journey
from Savannah to Charleston.
Narrator: In 1971, pulaski
scholar Edward pinkowski
discovered a letter at the
Massachusetts historical society
which throws important light
on pulaski's final fate.
It's dated October 15th, 1779
and written by the
wasp's captain.
Shores: So, in a letter
from Samuel bulfinch,
he writes that a American
that was taken on
board the ship and died
was then removed and taken back
to the greenwich plantation.
Narrator: The dead
American isn't named,
leading some scholars to
conclude he cannot be pulaski.
However, bulfinch
makes no mention either
of what would surely have
been a most memorable event,
that pulaski was brought
on board his ship
and buried at sea.
Shores: I would argue
that pulaski
was buried at
greenwich plantation.
There is a significant desire
on William bowen's part
to give some romantic details,
but I don't think any
of those inconsistencies
really point to that story
being completely untrue,
whereas there are
numerous inconsistencies
in the sea burial story.
C. Powell: So, Preston, as you
know, Bowen used his memory
as well as that of
the groundskeeper,
and they were told that pulaski
was buried underneath
a great palmetto tree,
very much like this one.
Russell: Wow.
So, we're right in the area
where his grave must have been.
Just think and
think of the thrill
when they started digging
and found the bones.
Narrator: So, when William Bowen
exhumed the remains in 1853,
he clearly believed they
were casimir pulaski's
and should be placed
inside his monument.
Whether those degraded bones
can finally be identified
and confirm whether the
father of the American cavalry
was a woman or intersex,
an ancient DNA lab in
Canada is about to find out.
(Suspenseful music)
Just south of the
spring hill redoubt,
in an old rail yard building
that stands almost on the
very spot where pulaski fell,
Megan Moore initiates an
important Skype call to Canada.
Moore: Hello Stephen, how
are you?
Fratpietro: Good Megan, how
are you?
Moore: Doing well.
So, I'd like you to meet...
Narrator: For the team,
it's the moment of truth,
the results
of the second DNA test,
comparing intact bones
from the pulaski monument
and his grandniece,
Teresa witkowska.
If there's no match,
the skeleton belongs
to an unknown woman,
and the mystery of what
happened to pulaski continues.
But if they do match, the
mystery is finally solved.
Moore: So, what can you tell us?
Fratpietro: We did a feasibility
test on these two samples
to determine what types
of DNA were available.
We were not able to
get any nuclear DNA,
but we were able to
get mitochondrial DNA
from both samples
and from the look
of the results,
the mitochondrial DNA profile
from the witkowska metatarsal
is the same as the
pulaski monument talus.
Moore: Woo!
Woo!
I. Powell: 22 long years.
Moore: Wonderful news.
Estabrook: This is awesome!
Narrator: This
time the base letters
from the two samples
clearly match,
but is it just a fluke?
Moore: So Stephen, what
are the chances
that this could be a match
with some other
random individual?
Narrator: Because
mitochondrial DNA is inherited
exclusively through
the maternal line,
it's not unique
like nuclear DNA.
So, Stephen has
compared the new profile
to an extensive database.
Fratpietro: And that
leads us to exclude
99.98% of the population
as contributors
to this particular profile.
So, it's fairly unique.
Moore: So, it's unique,
and it's a match.
So, that's one instance...
Vilain: The mitochondrial
evidence is pretty strong.
The only potential confounding
factor I could think of
would be if there
was a close relative
that would have been
buried in a similar area.
Moore: And the chances of that
being another pulaski relative
in Savannah at this
time are slim to none.
Narrator: So, DNA
extracted from a tiny fragment
of a foot bone has finally
delivered a clear answer,
the skeleton found inside the
monument is casimir pulaski.
Estabrook: This is a
vindication of work
that people have
been arguing about
for a couple of
hundred years almost,
but what it opens up,
is if this is pulaski,
then why do his bones look
so biologically female?
Narrator: The most
plausible explanation
is that he was intersex.
Moore: Placing casimir pulaski,
not only as this war hero,
but as an individual who maybe
lived sort of a dual life.
Narrator: The
revelation that the father
of the American cavalry
was not a normal man
has implications
that reverberate
all the way up to the present.
It forces us to
ask the question,
can the military accommodate
those who don't fit neatly
into our traditional sexual
categories of male and female?
Viloria: I think that we've seen
that women can do basically the
same things that men can do,
and I certainly know many
fierce women warriors.
Wilson: We have to recognize
that people of intersex
and different gender
identifications
have contributed
throughout our history
from the very beginnings
of our country.
And these people have
always been around.
We just may be haven't
known about it.
Narrator: Even today,
identifying historical cases
of intersex is
still a challenge.
Estabrook: As a physical
anthropologist,
we don't have any training
in what intersex
skeletons look like.
We don't have any
intersex skeletons
in known skeletal collections.
Narrator: The anthropology team
does have one clue
they can follow.
Moore: So, one of the things
that was in the report
that kar burns put
together about this...
Narrator: Back in
Virginia estabrook's lab,
they take another look
at what they now know
is the cast of pulaski's skull.
Moore: This cast is
just superficial
so we don't have the inside.
Narrator: But in
her original report,
Karen burns noted
something unusual,
an X-ray of the skull revealed
that the sella turcica,
the location of the
pituitary gland, is enlarged.
Moore: I wanted to just
look at what
a normal sella turcica
looks like, okay,
just to get an idea of what
she might have been seeing
in the X-ray when we look at it,
and it sits right
behind the eye orbits,
the optic nerve
is criss crossing
right over the pituitary gland.
It would sit right in
there, in that saddle.
Narrator: Crucially,
it could help determine
whether pulaski had congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
Vilain: Most cases
nowadays are treated,
so you would not have
this enlargement,
but if it's someone who's
been untreated for years,
it's possible that the sella
turcica would be enlarged.
Narrator: While the condition
may have left physical traces
inside pulaski's skull,
it could also have shaped
how his brain functioned,
his very character
and temperament.
Wilson: A very flamboyant,
larger-than-life personality,
and that's probably what
carried him as far as he got.
Shores: People that knew him,
they knew him to be
very aggressive,
very strong, and
also very brash.
Viloria: I do feel a
kindred spirit
with pulaski's temperament.
I certainly have been very
brash throughout my lifetime.
Perhaps it has something to
do with the hormonal blend
of having higher
levels of testosterone,
and yet in a sort of a more
biologically female body.
Dreger: So, they tend to
be more tomboyish,
more interested in
male-typical games.
And when they grow up,
they're more likely to go into
traditional male occupations.
Narrator: Modern
medical science reveals
that intersex conditions
are far more common
than we would imagine.
Villain: If we consider that
all minor differences
of the appearance
of the genitals
and of the anatomy of
the internal organs,
then the frequency is about 1%.
(Crowd cheering)
Dreger: If you go to a
football stadium
on a day of a big football game,
that means there are
dozens of people around you
who are born with
atypical genitals.
Viloria: We have been around
since the dawn of time.
And so, when I actually learned
that there was new evidence
about a person who was intersex,
and especially
someone who, like me,
was more female biologically,
but lived as a man,
I was just riveted,
and I felt like this is what
my life might have been like
if I lived 300 years ago.
(Baby cries)
Narrator: In pulaski's case,
the debility
recorded at his birth
could well describe
a female child
born with congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
He grew up and thrived as a man.
He took advantage of his
short, muscular physique
to become an outstanding
horseman and cavalry leader.
Wilson: Pulaski was definitely
ahead of his time
because he was the
first American officer
to recognize the importance of
cavalry in the American army.
Shores: The fact that he
was forced to live
somewhat of a private life
probably gave him some
advantages as a military leader,
better able to cope with the
loneliness of leadership.
Viloria: Personally, I think
that pulaski being intersex
doesn't impact or change
his legacy at all.
If anything, I think
it enhances it.
Because if you have someone
who is more female
body than male
but able to rise up the ranks
to become the father of
the American cavalry,
even with a female physiology,
that's very impressive.
Dreger: For me, it's kind
of like
what Martin Luther King said,
that we judge people not
on the color of their skin
but on the content
of their characters.
In this circumstance, I would
say we don't judge somebody
on the content of
their chromosomes.
Narrator: In 2005, most
of casimir pulaski's remains
were reburied in a marble crypt
next to the newly
restored monument.
Today, Chuck Powell and
the investigation team
have come to pay their respects.
Their efforts, along with
those of countless others,
have finally dispelled
the cloud of uncertainty
that for so long hung over
this revolutionary war hero.
C. Powell: So, as we stand
here today
to honor the memory
of casimir pulaski,
I'm reminded of the
words that he wrote
to the continental
congress in his last letter
dated August the 19th,
1779, when he said,
please know that because
I could not stoop
before the sovereigns of Europe,
I came to America to
fight for Liberty.
(Solemn music)
(Pulaski yelling)
Narrator: His riding
skills were legendary.
Wilson: Pulaski was the
father of American cavalry,
a very flamboyant,
larger-than-life personality.
Narrator: His contribution
to the revolutionary
war incalculable.
Shores: We can probably
credit him
with saving George
washington's life.
Paintings and statues celebrate
his military prowess, and yet.
Merbs: I don't think
people today
know very much about him at all.
I. Powell: Which stone was it
that you thought the
body might be buried in?
Narrator: But then
a collapsing monument
began to shed startling new
light on this forgotten hero.
C. Powell: And the skull is
staring up at you,
that was pretty exciting.
Narrator: Today,
scientists and historians
are struggling to resolve
a tantalizing mystery.
Estabrook: What I saw were bones
that looked biologically female.
Narrator: Was
general pulaski a woman?
Is someone else
buried in his tomb?
Or is the answer
more complicated?
Moore: This revolutionary
war hero
may not have been who
everyone thought he was.
Narrator: History
may be more shocking
than we ever imagined.
Today, technology forces the
past to give up its secrets.
Newly discovered documents
turn history on its head,
and discoveries in
ancient archives
reveal startling
stories we never knew.
(Tense music)
In one of savannah's
iconic squares
stands a soaring monument
to a revolutionary hero
you may never have heard of,
brigadier general
casimir pulaski.
He was once the toast of
the young United States,
the father of the
American cavalry
whose bravery and brilliance
may have saved George
washington's life.
Shores: He was small but he was
also incredibly strong
and incredibly skilled
and was willing to
lead people by example,
lead out in front, and
lead the other charges.
Narrator: The Polish-born
nobleman had come to America
to fight for freedom.
With his signature
hit-and-run raids,
he saved the day
at the battles of
brandywine and Charleston.
But behind the bold
strategist was a solitary man.
Merbs: He had no interaction
with females as far as we know,
he was a difficult person.
He just didn't take
orders very well,
but he was brilliant
at giving orders.
Narrator: On the morning
of October 9th, 1779,
here in Savannah, pulaski peers
into the Cannon smoke ahead.
When he sees the attack is
faltering he rallies his men
as they charge towards a
well-entrenched British force,
pulaski is gunned down.
He was just 34 years old.
It's a debt of gratitude
the citizens of Savannah
never wanted to forget,
honoring him at the replica
of the spring hill
redoubt where he fell,
and with this majestic
monument in monterey square.
Wilson: Casimir pulaski was
well liked
among many of the
people who met him,
and they looked
at him as a martyr
of the American revolution.
Narrator: But by 1996,
the pulaski monument
was crumbling and needed repair.
And that's when the mystery
surrounding the father of
the American cavalry began
for Chuck Powell and
his daughter, Lisa.
I. Powell: So, this is where it
all started 22 years ago?
C. Powell: That's correct.
The monument was in
really bad repair,
and they were gonna
have to take it down,
and we knew from historical
research that the remains
that were claimed to
be pulaski's
were inside this monument.
I. Powell: How did you know
where to look for it?
C. Powell well, let's go inside
and I'll show you.
I. Powell: Okay.
Narrator: Chuck Powell had
been appointed coordinator
of the pulaski
identification committee
by his friend and
colleague Dr. James metts.
Reporter: A team of
forensic professionals
led by chatham county
coroner James metts
plans to lay the
mystery to rest.
Narrator: The first mystery
the committee needed to solve?
Were there even human remains
inside the monument?
C. Powell: I was really excited.
I didn't really know that much
about the history of
pulaski, nor the monument.
I. Powell: I think a lot
of people thought
that even though
they said there was,
they weren't really
gonna be sure
until they opened it up, was
there a body in there or not.
Narrator: That story originated
with colonel William Bowen.
In an extensive 1850's
report, he claimed pulaski
had originally been buried
on his family's plantation.
Years later, Bowen
disinterred the remains
and put them in a metal
case, hermetically sealed,
and placed within the plinth
alongside the cornerstone.
I. Powell: Which stone was it
that you thought the
body might be buried in?
C. Powell: Well, what we knew
from the conservator
is that once this stone
right here was removed,
the inside of the
monument would be exposed,
so that's where we thought
we would find them.
Narrator: On September 27, 1996,
the base of the monument
is finally opened.
C. Powell: And we looked
down inside
and in that corner
was a metal container.
Narrator: Karen
burns is a well-reputed
forensic anthropologist who
had participated in a search
for the lost flyer
Amelia earhart
and helped identify
human remains after 9-11.
She goes down with
conservator James wermuth
to examine the container.
It's in terrible condition,
badly corroded by rain water
seeping into the monument.
Hours later, with the
rusty iron lid removed,
they get their first
glimpse inside.
C. Powell: Kar said, oh my
goodness, we really have bones.
And the skull is
staring up at you
with the wide set
orbit of the eyes.
Narrator: To the team,
those eyes bear an
uncanny resemblance
to an early portrait of pulaski.
Russell: It was sort of like
a macabre treasure hunt
or something to find
all these bones.
And they were mainly long bones.
Narrator: The next
day in a state crime lab,
forensic anthropologist
Karen burns begins to examine
the bones of what looks
like a complete skeleton.
C. Powell: She started laying
them out,
and Dr. Metts and I happened
to come in right at the time
where she had finally
gotten down to the pelvis.
And she said, oh, Dr. Metts,
you'll have to shoot
me, it's a woman.
It's not pulaski.
Narrator: The
investigation team is stunned.
Russell: I was very,
very excited
about it being the
bones of pulaski.
When I learned from
Karen that the pelvis
was probably of a female,
then I was downtrodden.
C. Powell: Me personally, what I
thought was, well, it's over.
You know, it can't be pulaski.
Whoever they dug up was a woman.
Narrator: The bones
aren't pulaski's.
So, whose are they?
And where's pulaski?
While examining the
skeleton, the county coroner
remembered an illustration
in a medical text.
The condition, congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
The result, a person with
mixed sexual characteristics.
In 18th century terms,
a hermaphrodite.
When the team compared
the medical illustration
to a portrait of pulaski,
they were shocked.
Could that explain why the
father of the American cavalry
had female-looking bones?
For more than 10 years,
Karen burns tried to get to
the bottom of the mystery.
In 2012, she died suddenly
still searching for
a definitive answer.
For Chuck Powell, it looked
like the investigation was over.
I. Powell: When dad decided to
retire the project,
I begged him not to.
He said, do you have people
that would be interested
in working with you to
help complete this project?
And I said, I do.
(Mysterious music)
Narrator: A new
investigation team
is ready to begin their
own journey of discovery.
Estabrook: Lisa came up to
me and was like,
I have this project that
involves bones and a mystery,
will you help me?
Narrator: Joining
Virginia estabrook
is fellow anthropologist
Megan Moore.
Moore: I met kar burns in 2000,
and she was already
talking about this case
of casimir pulaski and
that this pelvis is female.
Narrator: The
two are on their way
to Chuck powell's summer cottage
on tybee island just
outside Savannah.
(Anticipatory music)
Estabrook: Hi, Lisa.
I. Powell: Hey, Virginia.
Dad, this is Dr. Virginia
estabrook, Chuck Powell.
Narrator: Chuck Powell is
thrilled a younger generation
is taking up the
unsolved mystery.
Estabrook: You have
all of these boxes
c. Powell: Yes.
Estabrook: From the first.
C. Powell: These boxes represent
10 years of work.
Narrator: The new team
plans to treat it
as a cold case,
re-evaluating all the evidence,
beginning with the skull.
C. Powell: As anthropologists,
you're probably interested...
Narrator: A new anthropology
team is eager to find out
if this skeleton from
the monument in Savannah
is an unknown woman
or revolutionary war
general, casimir pulaski.
C. Powell: So, one of the first
things that we have,
this cast of the skull that
we found in the monument.
Narrator: One thing
is immediately obvious.
Estabrook: It's a relatively
young person.
We can tell that because
all these sutures
along the skull are not fused,
which is consistent with
being relatively young.
Narrator: Pulaski was
only 34 when he died.
The teeth, even though
most are missing,
tell a similar story.
Moore: All three molars
being present.
That would be a good indication
that this is a
younger individual.
Narrator: A younger
individual who,
according to Karen burns'
measurements, was also short,
little more than five
feet tall, like pulaski.
C. Powell: The next part of
the skeleton, she said, oh...
Narrator: But when Chuck
Powell shows them the pelvis,
they have the same reaction
as Karen burns.
C. Powell: In the pelvis.
Moore: Wow.
Estabrook: Oh, yeah.
C. Powell: Yeah. (All laughing)
Yes. Moore: I would agree,
I would agree, this is a
very, very feminine pelvis.
C. Powell: Yeah.
Moore: The widening
here of the pubic bone
to create a larger space
for the birth canal.
Estabrook: If I were just
handed this pelvis.
What I saw were bones
that looked really
biologically female.
If they'd been found
in any other context,
I would have been pretty sure
that we were dealing
with a female skeleton.
Reporter: Chatham county
coroner James metts plans...
Narrator: Which makes
the shocking theory,
advanced by one member
of the original investigation
team to explain this,
all the more intriguing.
C. Powell: Dr. Metts said to
kar burns,
and he said, you know, it could
be that it's still pulaski,
but he had this condition and
he brought back this article.
Moore: Okay, so congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
Narrator: Congenital
adrenal hyperplasia
is a condition that occurs
in individuals of both sexes,
but its effects are
most obvious in females.
In an effort to boost cortisol,
a hormone needed for
coping with stress,
the adrenal glands also produce
high levels of the male
hormone, testosterone.
Vilain: And by doing that,
they will masculinize
the external genitalia
of a genetic female.
And other parts of
the body, the hair.
Narrator: Was this the condition
causing pulaski's outwardly
masculine appearance?
Dreger: There were many cases
I found historically
in the literature
where doctors were
surprised to discover
somebody who was a man
and then discovered
that internally they had
ovaries and a uterus.
Viloria: We used to be
called hermaphrodites,
after the Greek myth
of hermaphrodites,
but a lot of people
dislike that term
or feel that it's outdated,
and so today, we do
universally prefer intersex.
Narrator: Hida viloria was born
with some of the same
ambiguous sexual features
that congenital adrenal
hyperplasia produces.
Viloria: Originally, I was
assigned as a girl
and raised as a girl
because my family decided I
was more female physically,
and then later on, I actually
went through a period
of about four years
of living as a man.
I feel like I could have easily
put myself in pulaski's shoes.
C. Powell: Georgia
historical society.
Narrator: Could pulaski
have been intersex?
C. Powell: Of pulaski and
presented it to the committee.
Narrator: Chuck
Powell shows the new team
an early portrait of him.
Estabrook: Oh wow, wow.
C. Powell: And a
striking resemblance
between the two really kind
of made everyone's jaw drop.
Moore: Yeah, and it even looks
like there might even
be some breast tissue there
hidden underneath the uniform.
Narrator: It prompts them
to take another
look at the skull,
comparing it to a
second pulaski portrait.
Moore: You don't see
a pronounced brow Ridge,
so that would be a more
feminine kind of characteristic.
Estabrook: Wow.
Moore: The facial hair,
even the hairstyle.
Narrator: The first
investigative team
wanted to know
if there was anything in
pulaski's personal history
to suggest he had congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
C. Powell: In going back to
Poland to find records,
one of our researchers
came across
this record of his baptism.
(Baby cries)
Narrator: March 6th,
1745, casimir pulaski is born
at a country estate
outside Warsaw,
the second son of a
prominent noble family.
But there's something not
quite right about the child.
A priest is summoned.
After anointing the infant, he
records the baptism in Latin.
It was performed at home
because of what the
document calls a debility.
Viloria: Well, that's a very,
very typical story
amongst intersex people
where there's some kind of
statement at their birth,
or shortly thereafter, of a
deficiency or an abnormality.
Narrator: Fortunately the
baby is otherwise healthy.
A sign it didn't have
the life-threatening
form of the condition.
The unusual circumstances
of pulaski's birth
prompted investigators
to dig deeper
into his Polish heritage.
It led them to the grave
of Teresa witkowska,
pulaski's grand niece.
Moore: Kar burns went to Poland
and recovered some
bone fragments
from a maternal relative
of casimir pulaski.
Narrator: Burns wanted
to conduct a DNA test
comparing them to a bone sample
from the pulaski monument.
C. Powell: So, we sent those to
several laboratories.
No one was able to extract
what's called readable
mitochondrial DNA
from either sample
narrator: In Virginia
estabrook's lab,
the team prepares to examine
the contents of a box
that's been in storage
for over 10 years.
Estabrook: Opening up
the evidence seal, okay.
Narrator: So far they've
only been able to examine casts.
Inside, they hope to find
actual pieces of bone,
preserved for future analysis
while the rest of the
skeleton was re-buried.
Estabrook: We have a note.
It says, enclosed you will
find the pulaski remains
that were in the custody
of Dr. Karen burns.
There was a green cooler.
It was really exciting
to open up this box,
and it was a little
scary too actually
because I didn't know
what had been preserved.
We have one zip lock bag
labeled casimir pulaski
from monument on
monterey square,
right femur proximal segment.
Narrator: It's a good omen.
To conduct a new DNA test,
the team needs
viable bone samples.
Estabrook: Okay,
here's witkowska tooth.
Narrator: Samples from pulaski's
grandniece are here too.
Estabrook: So,
everything that's in here
is in sterile bags, we're
not gonna contaminate it.
We're good, so we can at least
take off the masks, thank god.
So, let's review what we have.
Moore: We were more optimistic
attempting the DNA today
because some of the
ancient DNA labs
have had so much success
with specimens that
are 30,000 years old.
(Suspenseful music)
Narrator: They select two
of the most promising samples,
a femur section from
the pulaski monument
and a tooth from the
pulaski relative, witkowska.
Sequencing their DNA could
solve this 200-year-old mystery.
(Mysterious music)
Investigators are
trying to determine
if revolutionary war
hero casimir pulaski
was female or intersex.
Along with DNA testing and
anthropological techniques,
they're delving further
into the historical record.
Despite questions
surrounding his birth,
pulaski is raised
as a normal male.
Even more than his two brothers,
he excels as a horseman.
Shores: Poland has a very,
very rich history
in cavalry traditions,
and that was very much a part
of Polish nobleman's life.
So pulaski would've spent a
significant portion of his youth
practicing all those
skills, riding horseback,
learning about archery,
lances, and swords and sabers.
Narrator: In his early 20s,
he began applying
those skills to war.
Poland had been invaded
by the Russian czar,
and pulaski joined the fight
against the foreign tyrant.
Wilson: Pulaski was what you
would call
a Polish revolutionary.
He fought against foreign
domination of his country.
(Pulaski screaming)
Shores: Some people accused
him of being too brash,
others said that
it was pure bravery
that led him to victory
in so many of his battles.
Narrator: His bold leadership
style came at a price.
Shores: Pulaski mentions in
one letter specifically
that had to actually
be transcribed for him
because his right
hand had been injured
in the previous battle.
Narrator: But by 1772, the
uprising in Poland is failing.
With a bounty on his head,
pulaski flees the country,
eventually finding his way
to the American
delegation in Paris.
Wilson: Where Benjamin
Franklin said,
hey, this is a guy that might be
of some service to us, some use.
And they sent him to America
along with letters
of recommendation.
Narrator: Arriving in
marblehead, Massachusetts,
pulaski travels south,
skirting British-held New York,
to reach washington's
camp outside Philadelphia.
Earle: He arrives
in Philadelphia,
he finds Washington.
What happens then?
Narrator: Graphic artist
Edmund earle is helping
historians major Douglas
shores and David Wilson
track a new mystery, how an
obscure Polish cavalry officer
rapidly becomes a hero of
the American revolution.
At first, pulaski
gets the cold shoulder
from the American high command.
Shores: Pulaski thinks that
congress knows all about him
and that he should be a shoe in
to become the other leader of
the American cavalry.
Narrator: But he finds he's one
of hundreds of foreigners,
all clamoring for a commission
from George Washington.
Wilson: Washington was
pretty concerned
about taking just
the best of the best.
Congress seemed to be more
inclined to forward people,
saying, hey, here's another
great guy from Europe.
Why don't you take
a look at him?
Earle: Given that he needs
to be vetted like this,
how does he end up getting it?
Shores: So, it actually wasn't
until the battle of brandywine.
Narrator: On September 11, 1777,
a powerful British force
attacks washington's army
south of Philadelphia
at brandywine creek.
Pulaski is there more
or less as an observer.
He watches as the
British attempt
to flank the American position,
putting Washington
himself in grave danger.
Shores: The British had
basically,
were routing the
Americans at that time
and getting ready to envelop
and overtake all the
American positions.
Wilson: And so, Washington
kinda said, you know,
hey, here's an
opportunity pulaski.
Get out there, show
me what you can do.
See if you can stop these guys
who are gonna be cutting
off the American retreat.
Earle: He proves himself in the
field directly to Washington.
Shores: Right.
(Dramatic music)
Narrator: For stalling
the British advance,
Washington summons pulaski
to thank him personally.
Shores: Had pulaski not
done this action,
George Washington very well
may have been captured
during this time.
We can probably credit him
with saving George
washington's life
at the battle of brandywine.
Narrator: Within two days,
pulaski is made
brigadier general
in charge of all
washington's cavalry,
where he champions
training, discipline,
and his own hit-and-run tactics.
Since pulaski was such an
outstanding horse rider,
Virginia estabrook
wonders if the bones
recovered from the monument
show any traces
of that activity.
Estabrook: The effects
of horseback riding
on the acetabulum.
Narrator: She's asked for help
from fellow anthropologist,
Charles merbs.
Merbs: In a position, the head
of the femur is forced upward,
and it changes the shape a bit,
but it also will leave
kind of a scar right here,
and that's what we see
in the pulaski femur.
Estabrook: That's fascinating.
So, when it goes in,
it would be sort of.
Merbs: It's pushing upwards.
Estabrook: This flexion.
Merbs: Yeah. Estabrooks:
Lots of flexion constantly.
Merbs: Right and pushing upward.
Estabrook: Yeah.
Narrator: Merbs
also sees arthritis
and other telltale
signs of wear.
Merbs: So, the evidence here
suggests this skeleton
was the skeleton of someone
who probably grew up on horses
and certainly was
a horseback rider.
Narrator: Charles merbs had
originally helped Karen burns
try to unravel the mystery
of the female pelvis.
Right away, he noticed
something unusual
when he compared it to
another female pelvis.
Merbs: These little
depressions right here.
We call those parturition scars
and they indicate
that this individual
has given birth to children.
Now, despite the fact that
with the pulaski pelvis
the characteristics
are basically female,
there are no parturition scars.
Narrator: Some
births leave no scars,
but still it does match
pulaski's profile.
He never married and seemed
to prefer his own company.
Merbs: In other groups.
Now, in this case.
Narrator: The anthropology team
has identified other features
consistent with what they
know of the cavalry leader.
Merbs: This indicates
some kind of trauma.
Narrator: A blow to the skull,
possibly received in battle,
and an injury to the right hand.
Merbs: It had undergone a
fracture and did not heal well.
Narrator: It matches
the one received by pulaski
while fighting in Poland.
Merbs: Everything we found in
the skeleton,
other than the sex,
is consistent with that skeleton
being the skeleton
of casimir pulaski.
Hershberger: Now,
how tall are you?
Viloria: Almost 5'4".
Hershberger: 5
'4", which I think
is the exact height
of pulaski himself.
Viloria: Ha, this is a weskit.
Narrator: Hida viloria is
taking part in an experiment
with wardrobe expert
Kevin hershberger.
Hershberger: So, what we're
trying to do is,
we're trying to dress
you just like pulaski
to make you look just
like a man in uniform
with all of the layers
and all of the distinctive
insignia and all the trim
so that no one would
give you a second look.
Viloria: So, what is this coat?
Why does it have this
particular design?
Hershberger: This is a very
common, traditional eastern
European coat.
It's called a
dolman or an Attila.
Viloria: Fits great!
I think it would
have been very easy,
in those days in particular,
with things like the big
shirts and the coats,
and we have other
stories of people
who successfully lived
as another gender
until they finally discovered
in an autopsy after their death
that they were not who
everyone thought they were.
Hershberger: So, this is called
a busbee,
and it's kind of the final
piece to finish you off.
Viloria: Wow, my god.
I feel so tall and regal.
Hershberger: You can definitely
pass for a soldier, I think.
Viloria: Cool.
Hershberger: Absolutely
(gentle music)
Narrator: By march 1779,
the war of independence
has reached a critical stage.
Stalled in the north, the
British have moved south,
hoping to divide the country
and spark a loyalist uprising.
Pulaski is eager to engage
them with his elite new force,
combining cavalry and
infantry, the pulaski legion.
He persuades his commanders
to let him head south
to thwart the British advance.
Shores: The British have already
taken over Savannah
and are starting to
move forces north.
Narrator: They've set
their sights on Charleston.
After a grueling
two-month journey,
pulaski and his legion
arrive may 8th, 1779
in south carolina's
beleaguered capital.
Its citizens are
terrified of the redcoats.
Wilson: They were convinced that
there were 8,000 British troops
outside the city and they were
on the verge of surrendering.
Shores: However, pulaski brings
his troops down there,
the newly outfitted
pulaski legion.
Although tired from their march,
they really revived
the city spirits.
Earle: So, he arrives in
Charleston with great fanfare,
and then what happens?
Wilson: So, pulaski takes
his legion,
about 60 infantry
and 60 cavalry,
and they march out to meet
this British recon force.
Narrator: Even though the legion
suffers heavy losses, pulaski,
with his small stature,
puts on a dazzling display.
Shores: In fact, it was
somewhat of an advantage
because the smaller
frame, lighter body
would've made the horse
more maneuverable.
(Pulaski screams)
Wilson: People were impressed
by his courage
and the fact that he was willing
to take on this actually
much larger British force.
Narrator: But his
bold action succeeds.
The next day, the British
withdraw back to Savannah.
In a snow-covered landscape,
more like pulaski's
native Poland,
stands lakehead
university's paleo-DNA lab.
(Mysterious music)
Fratpietro: We're
going to just incubate
the bone powder in the liquid.
Lab chief Stephen fratpietro
is trying to determine
if the monument skeleton
is in fact casimir pulaski,
despite its female appearance.
The DNA is too degraded
to determine sex,
so he's using another method
to reach a conclusion.
Megan Moore has come to find
out if the effort has paid off.
Moore: This is gonna be
an exciting moment.
Fratpietro: Hi, Megan.
Why don't you come around here,
so you can take a look
at what we got for you.
So, you sent us a bone from
the pulaski monument sample.
It's probably all
contaminated on the end,
so what I did was I cut
off the end to remove that.
Narrator: Getting DNA
from the femur section
still proved difficult.
Fratpietro: I could tell that
the DNA contained within
the samples
was fairly degraded,
and the problem was that when
we were replicating the DNA,
we would find different
areas of damage.
Narrator: Despite
the challenges,
Stephen has had some success.
Fratpietro: So, what we've
got here is
the mitochondrial DNA profile
of the pulaski monument
femur that was sent to us.
Narrator: Unlike nuclear
DNA, mitochondrial DNA
is inherited exclusively
through the maternal side.
So, the profile from the
femur should match the tooth
from pulaski's grandniece,
Teresa witkowska.
Fratpietro: Just give me
a minute.
Okay, so as you can see,
we have two very different
mitochondrial DNA profiles.
So, they are not
maternally related.
Moore: That's disappointing.
Narrator: The base
letters don't match.
So, the monument skeleton
can't be pulaski.
I. Powell: Personally, it
was devastating.
As far as the project goes,
everything just came
to a screeching halt.
Estabrook: The results were
really confusing
and didn't seem to make
sense for the context.
Narrator: They
contradict all the evidence
the team has gathered,
the individual's age,
battle injuries, and
years in the saddle.
Merbs: I mean, everything
with this skeleton
is consistent with this
being casimir pulaski.
Narrator: So, maybe the
problem lies with the DNA test.
In fact, there's something
odd about both DNA profiles.
Mitochondrial profiles fall
into what are called haplogroups
and are associated with
particular geographical regions.
Fratpietro: From the pulaski
monument remains sample profile,
we're predicting it to
belong to haplogroup m,
which can commonly be found
amongst Asian populations.
Moore: Which is not what
we would expect
from a monument from Savannah,
revolutionary war era.
Fratpietro: Mm.
Narrator: The haplogroup
for the witkowska profile
is equally bewildering,
haplogroup f.
Fratpietro: Commonly in
Chinese and Japanese people.
Moore: So, both findings
are surprising
because this one came
out of a tomb in Poland.
With...
Narrator: Megan Moore
thinks she knows why.
And it means
there's still a way
forward with DNA.
Moore: We were afraid
there might be
an issue of contamination
that was causing these
unexpected results.
The original bone
samples that were sent
had been cut or had been broken,
so there was a possibility
of contamination
from previous lab analyses.
Narrator: But unlike those
earlier labs, paleo-DNA lab
has proved it can
successfully extract DNA.
A good reason to try again.
Stephen receives new samples,
where contamination
is minimized.
Intact foot bones from
the pulaski monument
and his grandniece.
This may be a last
chance to determine
if the remains in the
monument really are pulaski's.
In the fall of 1779,
for pulaski too, the
stakes couldn't be higher.
Ahead lies his most
important assignment
of the revolutionary war.
In September 1779,
after successfully
defending Charleston
pulaski and other American
army units march south.
There they'll meet
up with a new ally.
Earle: So, after Charleston,
I see he's headed
south to Savannah.
Well, why Savannah,
what's there?
Wilson: The British had
occupied Savannah,
but more importantly, in 1778,
as a result of the American
victory at saratoga,
the French have joined
the American alliance.
Narrator: For the first
time, American and French forces
will fight side by side.
With his European
background and experience,
pulaski is picked to
meet the French general,
count d'estaing, who
has begun landing
over 4,000 troops a few
miles south of Savannah.
Earle: So they build up, and
I've got them travel up north.
So, here is the
British fortifications,
and south, we've
got the Americans.
Narrator: When the
attack is finally launched
on October 9th, 1779, nothing
goes according to plan.
Wilson: Dawn started to break,
d'estaing was afraid
that his army was
gonna be discovered,
and so instead of waiting
for the entire army
to get aligned and ready to
attack across a broad front,
d'estaing took his avant-garde,
which was just one battalion
of a few hundred guys,
and attacked just
with those guys.
Narrator: The
French attack focuses
on the heavily defended
spring hill redoubt.
Pulaski and his legion
lead the American column,
which is still
moving into position.
He tries to make out whether
the French are succeeding
against heavy British
Cannon and musket fire.
Shores: Pulaski was charged
with trying to break the lines
and penetrate into the city.
So, as the attack falters,
pulaski kind of decides
that it's now or never.
Narrator: What happens
next is uncertain.
Pulaski may have lead
a desperate charge.
Or he may have been scouting
forward with a handful of men.
Whatever his intention, it fails
to turn the tide of battle.
Wilson: The Americans and
the French suffered
an incredibly bad defeat
at the siege of Savannah.
It rivaled bunker hill in the
number of killed and wounded,
over 800 on the French
and American sides.
Narrator: Most
prominent among them,
general casimir pulaski.
Just yards from the spring
hill redoubt, he falls,
fatally wounded by a piece
of British grapeshot.
According to one story, this
is that deadly iron ball.
Lisa Powell and fellow
researcher Dan Elliott
are using modern technology
to test the claim.
Elliott: It was taken out
of his body
by a south Carolina
surgeon named James lynah.
And from his
grandson, I believe,
was donated to the
Georgia historical society
along with a little pouch
that was made from some of
the clothing of pulaski.
Narrator: By directing
a laser beam at the object,
this portable analyzer can
detect its metal content.
Elliott: They're trying
to make cast iron,
but then, they're also
getting copper and nickel
and various other elements
are getting in the mix.
Narrator: That
mix will determine
if it came from a
British gun or not.
But there's a problem.
Elliott: That cast iron ball has
been mounted in that candlestick
with that silver wire holding
it in for well over 100 years,
so it's had time
to do a little...
I. Powell: Leaching.
Elliott: Migration of the
elements between the two.
Well, here's silver.
So, you can see silver's
going off the charts.
That's compared to these
other minor elements
that are in here.
Iron is this other
gigantic peak over here.
Much higher than
the silver peak.
Narrator: Even so the
evidence is promising.
Elliott: The contaminants it's
showing on the ball
is consistent with
a lot of the other
revolutionary war balls
that we've already sampled.
Narrator: And the high
levels of nickel, tin, and zinc
show it was cast in
a British foundry.
But whether it's the actual
grapeshot that killed pulaski,
is, for now, impossible to say.
(Tense music)
But what happens to him in
his final hours, even days,
could provide vital clues
about who this enigmatic
hero really was.
C. Powell: Pulaski was brought
out here
and probably tended in
the mansion at greenwich.
Narrator: Chuck
Powell and another member
of the original investigation
team, Dr. Preston Russell,
have come to the last known
place pulaski was taken.
C. Powell: So, we know that he
was mortally wounded,
and that he was transported
off of the battlefield
to a place called
greenwich plantation,
which had been set
aside as a hospital.
Narrator: Today, greenwich
plantation is a cemetery.
A fountain, itself a replica,
is all that remains
to Mark the site
of the old plantation home
that stood here in 1779.
Russell: So, the house must have
been pretty near, is that right?
C. Powell: Yeah, we know that it
had a view toward the river,
so it probably sat
right back there.
Narrator: Fearing
capture by the British
if he remains with
retreating the American army,
pulaski throws in his
lot with the French.
One of their
surgeons attends him,
trying to treat his
badly bleeding wound.
A version of what
may have happened
next to the wounded cavalryman
is given in a report
by colonel William Bowen,
the man who helped raise
the monument to
pulaski decades later.
C. Powell: We also know from
reading bowens' account
of that particular night,
he had an eye witness.
Russell: It was Elizabeth Bowen,
right, the granddaughter.
C. Powell: Yeah, it was.
Russell: She was like
14 years old or something.
C. Powell: Yeah.
So, she says that she heard
that pulaski was dead.
And then, she witnessed
a torch-lit ceremony
to take his body and Bury it
back behind the
plantation house.
Narrator: The girl,
bowen's future aunt,
watched slaves carry pulaski
into an ornamental garden
and Bury him under some trees.
By family tradition,
the area became known
as the grave of pulaski.
But a second more
widely circulated story
describes a different
end for pulaski.
After a few days,
still alive but barely,
he was carried down to the wasp,
an American cargo ship docked
in the Wilmington river
and bound for Charleston.
When he soon died, the
foul stench of gangrene
became so offensive,
the crew felt compelled
to cast his body into the waves.
Wilson: I find that to be the
least likely of the scenarios
simply because pulaski
was too important a person
to be thrown overboard on a ship
on the very short journey
from Savannah to Charleston.
Narrator: In 1971, pulaski
scholar Edward pinkowski
discovered a letter at the
Massachusetts historical society
which throws important light
on pulaski's final fate.
It's dated October 15th, 1779
and written by the
wasp's captain.
Shores: So, in a letter
from Samuel bulfinch,
he writes that a American
that was taken on
board the ship and died
was then removed and taken back
to the greenwich plantation.
Narrator: The dead
American isn't named,
leading some scholars to
conclude he cannot be pulaski.
However, bulfinch
makes no mention either
of what would surely have
been a most memorable event,
that pulaski was brought
on board his ship
and buried at sea.
Shores: I would argue
that pulaski
was buried at
greenwich plantation.
There is a significant desire
on William bowen's part
to give some romantic details,
but I don't think any
of those inconsistencies
really point to that story
being completely untrue,
whereas there are
numerous inconsistencies
in the sea burial story.
C. Powell: So, Preston, as you
know, Bowen used his memory
as well as that of
the groundskeeper,
and they were told that pulaski
was buried underneath
a great palmetto tree,
very much like this one.
Russell: Wow.
So, we're right in the area
where his grave must have been.
Just think and
think of the thrill
when they started digging
and found the bones.
Narrator: So, when William Bowen
exhumed the remains in 1853,
he clearly believed they
were casimir pulaski's
and should be placed
inside his monument.
Whether those degraded bones
can finally be identified
and confirm whether the
father of the American cavalry
was a woman or intersex,
an ancient DNA lab in
Canada is about to find out.
(Suspenseful music)
Just south of the
spring hill redoubt,
in an old rail yard building
that stands almost on the
very spot where pulaski fell,
Megan Moore initiates an
important Skype call to Canada.
Moore: Hello Stephen, how
are you?
Fratpietro: Good Megan, how
are you?
Moore: Doing well.
So, I'd like you to meet...
Narrator: For the team,
it's the moment of truth,
the results
of the second DNA test,
comparing intact bones
from the pulaski monument
and his grandniece,
Teresa witkowska.
If there's no match,
the skeleton belongs
to an unknown woman,
and the mystery of what
happened to pulaski continues.
But if they do match, the
mystery is finally solved.
Moore: So, what can you tell us?
Fratpietro: We did a feasibility
test on these two samples
to determine what types
of DNA were available.
We were not able to
get any nuclear DNA,
but we were able to
get mitochondrial DNA
from both samples
and from the look
of the results,
the mitochondrial DNA profile
from the witkowska metatarsal
is the same as the
pulaski monument talus.
Moore: Woo!
Woo!
I. Powell: 22 long years.
Moore: Wonderful news.
Estabrook: This is awesome!
Narrator: This
time the base letters
from the two samples
clearly match,
but is it just a fluke?
Moore: So Stephen, what
are the chances
that this could be a match
with some other
random individual?
Narrator: Because
mitochondrial DNA is inherited
exclusively through
the maternal line,
it's not unique
like nuclear DNA.
So, Stephen has
compared the new profile
to an extensive database.
Fratpietro: And that
leads us to exclude
99.98% of the population
as contributors
to this particular profile.
So, it's fairly unique.
Moore: So, it's unique,
and it's a match.
So, that's one instance...
Vilain: The mitochondrial
evidence is pretty strong.
The only potential confounding
factor I could think of
would be if there
was a close relative
that would have been
buried in a similar area.
Moore: And the chances of that
being another pulaski relative
in Savannah at this
time are slim to none.
Narrator: So, DNA
extracted from a tiny fragment
of a foot bone has finally
delivered a clear answer,
the skeleton found inside the
monument is casimir pulaski.
Estabrook: This is a
vindication of work
that people have
been arguing about
for a couple of
hundred years almost,
but what it opens up,
is if this is pulaski,
then why do his bones look
so biologically female?
Narrator: The most
plausible explanation
is that he was intersex.
Moore: Placing casimir pulaski,
not only as this war hero,
but as an individual who maybe
lived sort of a dual life.
Narrator: The
revelation that the father
of the American cavalry
was not a normal man
has implications
that reverberate
all the way up to the present.
It forces us to
ask the question,
can the military accommodate
those who don't fit neatly
into our traditional sexual
categories of male and female?
Viloria: I think that we've seen
that women can do basically the
same things that men can do,
and I certainly know many
fierce women warriors.
Wilson: We have to recognize
that people of intersex
and different gender
identifications
have contributed
throughout our history
from the very beginnings
of our country.
And these people have
always been around.
We just may be haven't
known about it.
Narrator: Even today,
identifying historical cases
of intersex is
still a challenge.
Estabrook: As a physical
anthropologist,
we don't have any training
in what intersex
skeletons look like.
We don't have any
intersex skeletons
in known skeletal collections.
Narrator: The anthropology team
does have one clue
they can follow.
Moore: So, one of the things
that was in the report
that kar burns put
together about this...
Narrator: Back in
Virginia estabrook's lab,
they take another look
at what they now know
is the cast of pulaski's skull.
Moore: This cast is
just superficial
so we don't have the inside.
Narrator: But in
her original report,
Karen burns noted
something unusual,
an X-ray of the skull revealed
that the sella turcica,
the location of the
pituitary gland, is enlarged.
Moore: I wanted to just
look at what
a normal sella turcica
looks like, okay,
just to get an idea of what
she might have been seeing
in the X-ray when we look at it,
and it sits right
behind the eye orbits,
the optic nerve
is criss crossing
right over the pituitary gland.
It would sit right in
there, in that saddle.
Narrator: Crucially,
it could help determine
whether pulaski had congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
Vilain: Most cases
nowadays are treated,
so you would not have
this enlargement,
but if it's someone who's
been untreated for years,
it's possible that the sella
turcica would be enlarged.
Narrator: While the condition
may have left physical traces
inside pulaski's skull,
it could also have shaped
how his brain functioned,
his very character
and temperament.
Wilson: A very flamboyant,
larger-than-life personality,
and that's probably what
carried him as far as he got.
Shores: People that knew him,
they knew him to be
very aggressive,
very strong, and
also very brash.
Viloria: I do feel a
kindred spirit
with pulaski's temperament.
I certainly have been very
brash throughout my lifetime.
Perhaps it has something to
do with the hormonal blend
of having higher
levels of testosterone,
and yet in a sort of a more
biologically female body.
Dreger: So, they tend to
be more tomboyish,
more interested in
male-typical games.
And when they grow up,
they're more likely to go into
traditional male occupations.
Narrator: Modern
medical science reveals
that intersex conditions
are far more common
than we would imagine.
Villain: If we consider that
all minor differences
of the appearance
of the genitals
and of the anatomy of
the internal organs,
then the frequency is about 1%.
(Crowd cheering)
Dreger: If you go to a
football stadium
on a day of a big football game,
that means there are
dozens of people around you
who are born with
atypical genitals.
Viloria: We have been around
since the dawn of time.
And so, when I actually learned
that there was new evidence
about a person who was intersex,
and especially
someone who, like me,
was more female biologically,
but lived as a man,
I was just riveted,
and I felt like this is what
my life might have been like
if I lived 300 years ago.
(Baby cries)
Narrator: In pulaski's case,
the debility
recorded at his birth
could well describe
a female child
born with congenital
adrenal hyperplasia.
He grew up and thrived as a man.
He took advantage of his
short, muscular physique
to become an outstanding
horseman and cavalry leader.
Wilson: Pulaski was definitely
ahead of his time
because he was the
first American officer
to recognize the importance of
cavalry in the American army.
Shores: The fact that he
was forced to live
somewhat of a private life
probably gave him some
advantages as a military leader,
better able to cope with the
loneliness of leadership.
Viloria: Personally, I think
that pulaski being intersex
doesn't impact or change
his legacy at all.
If anything, I think
it enhances it.
Because if you have someone
who is more female
body than male
but able to rise up the ranks
to become the father of
the American cavalry,
even with a female physiology,
that's very impressive.
Dreger: For me, it's kind
of like
what Martin Luther King said,
that we judge people not
on the color of their skin
but on the content
of their characters.
In this circumstance, I would
say we don't judge somebody
on the content of
their chromosomes.
Narrator: In 2005, most
of casimir pulaski's remains
were reburied in a marble crypt
next to the newly
restored monument.
Today, Chuck Powell and
the investigation team
have come to pay their respects.
Their efforts, along with
those of countless others,
have finally dispelled
the cloud of uncertainty
that for so long hung over
this revolutionary war hero.
C. Powell: So, as we stand
here today
to honor the memory
of casimir pulaski,
I'm reminded of the
words that he wrote
to the continental
congress in his last letter
dated August the 19th,
1779, when he said,
please know that because
I could not stoop
before the sovereigns of Europe,
I came to America to
fight for Liberty.
(Solemn music)