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The battle of Lexington and Concord
This battle was known as the shot heard around the world and marked the start of America's war to independence. -
The Winter at Valley Forge
After failing to retake Philadelphia, Washington led his 12,000-man army into winter quarters at Valley Forge. -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
On September 21, 1780, Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned his back on his country in a secret meeting with a top British official -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere was a battle between an American and British ship during the War of 1812, about 400 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia -
The battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought on September 13, 1814. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. -
The Battle of New Orleans
U.S. victory against Great Britain in the War of 1812 and the final major battle of that conflict. -
The Election of Andrew Jackson
Jackson decisively won the election, carrying 55.5% of the popular vote and 178 electoral votes, to Adams' 83. The election marked the rise of Jacksonian Democracy and the transition from the First Party System to the Second Party System. -
The battle of the Alamo
Battle during the Texas Revolution that occurred from February 23 to March 6, 1836, in San Antonio, Texas. It ended in a decisive victory for Mexican forces over Texan volunteers. -
Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona Battle of the Philippines (Spanish American War, not World War II)
Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Lincoln took office following the 1860 presidential election, in which he won a plurality of the popular vote in a four-candidate field. Almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States. -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. -
The First battle of Bull Run
Federal forces under General Irvin McDowell attempted to flank Confederate positions by crossing Bull Run but were turned back. The end result of the battle was a Confederate victory and Federal forces retreated to the defenses of Washington, DC. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
The heart of the terms was that Confederates would be paroled after surrendering their weapons and other military property. If surrendered soldiers did not take up arms again, the United States government would not prosecute them. Grant also allowed Confederate officers to keep their mounts and side arms. -
The Battle of Cowpens
Daniel Morgan led his army of tough Continentals and backwoods militia to a brilliant victory over Banastre Tarleton's battle-hardened force of British regulars. -
The sinking of the USS Maine
On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members -
The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
This patriotic song, whose words were written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814, during the War of 1812 with Great Britain, was adopted by Congress as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.