Early American wars

  • The Battles of Lexington and Concord

    The Battles of Lexington and Concord
    The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
  • The Winter at Valley Forge

    The Winter at Valley Forge
    In December, 1777, General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. Though Revolutionary forces had secured a pivotal victory at Saratoga in September and October, Washington’s army suffered defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania.
  • Benedict Arnold turns traitor

    Benedict Arnold turns traitor
    Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was an early American hero of the Revolutionary War (1775-83) who later became one of the most infamous traitors in U.S. history after he switched sides and fought for the British. ... Yet Arnold never received the recognition he thought he deserved.
  • The Battle of Cowpens

    The Battle of Cowpens
    The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between U.S. forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Sir Banastre Tarleton, as part of the campaign in the Carolinas.
  • The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere

    The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
    USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere was an action between the two ships during the War of 1812, approximately 400 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It took place shortly after war had broken out.
  • The Battle of Baltimore

    The Battle of Baltimore
    The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading British forces.
  • The Battle of New Orleans

    The Battle of New Orleans
    The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles southeast of the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the current suburb of Chalmette, Louisiana
  • The Election of Andrew Jackson

    The Election of Andrew Jackson
    The 1828 United States presidential election was the 11th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828. It featured a re-match of the 1824 election, as President John Quincy Adams of the National Republican Party faced Andrew Jackson of the Democratic Party.
  • The Battle of the Alamo

    The Battle of the Alamo
    The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, killing the Texian and immigrant occupiers.
  • Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona

    Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona
    By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States. Mexico relinquished all claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States.
  • Abraham Lincoln Elected President

    Abraham Lincoln Elected President
    The 1860 United States presidential election was the 19th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 6, 1860. In a four-way contest, the Republican Party ticket of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin emerged triumphant. Lincoln's election served as the primary catalyst of the American Civil War.
  • South Carolina secedes from the United States

    South Carolina secedes from the United States
    When the ordinance was adopted on December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States. James Buchanan, the United States president, declared the ordinance illegal but did not act to stop it.
  • The First Battle of Bull Run

    The First Battle of Bull Run
    The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas, was the first major battle of the American Civil War and was a Confederate victory.
  • The Battle of Gettysburg

    The Battle of Gettysburg
    The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863.
  • The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse

    The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
    The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War.
  • The sinking of the USS Maine

    The sinking of the USS Maine
    Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. She exploded and sank on the evening of 15 February 1898, killing three-quarters of her crew. In 1898, a U.S. Navy board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a mine.
  • The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem

    The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
    President Woodrow Wilson adopted the song as a de facto “national anthem” in 1916 but did not codify this ruling. In 1929, “House Resolution 14” was presented to Congress to name “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the official national anthem to the United States.
  • Battle of the Philippines

    Battle of the Philippines
    The Philippines campaign, Battle of the Philippines or the Liberation of the Philippines, codenamed Operation Musketeer I, II, and III, was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II.