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The Winter at Valley Forge
They starvation and disease killed nearly 2,000 soldiers and perhaps as many as 1,500 horses. The men suffered from continual, gnawing hunger and cold. -
Benedict Arnold turns traitor
Revolutionary War hero Benedict Arnold turned his back on his country in a secret meeting with a top British official. -
The Battle of Cowpens
This was a critical American victory in the Revolutionary War. This engagement further weakened British attempts to wrest the southern colonies from American control. -
The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Guerriere
Guerriere was too badly damaged to salvage and burned the following day. This battle earned the Constitution the nickname “Old Ironsides.” -
The Battle of Baltimore
American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the port city of Baltimore, Maryland. -
The Battle of New Orleans
In that 37-minute contest, 8,392 British soldiers attacked 5,359 Americans with disastrous results—2,037 Redcoat casualties in comparison to a mere 71 for Jackson's army. -
The Election of Andrew Jackson
In 1828 Andrew Jackson won the election. -
The Battle of the Alamo
Daybreak all the Defenders had perished, including a former congressman from Tennessee, David Crockett. -
Mexico loses California, New Mexico, and Arizona
Mexico ceded nearly all the territory now included in the U.S. states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas, and western Colorado for $15 million and U.S. assumption of its citizens' claims against Mexico. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Lincoln's steadfast refusal to allow for the expansion of slavery and his unwavering belief in democracy and freedom of opportunity for all propelled him to the White House and sustained him through four long years of civil war. -
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. -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The Federal forces gave way at once, and a Confederate artillery barrage turned the retreat into a panicked flight to the Potomac. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great loss to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. -
The Treaty at Appomattox Courthouse
It is associated with the final battle of the Civil War and Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. -
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 268 sailors, or three-quarters of her crew. -
Battle of the Philippines
For the next three years the Filipinos carried on a guerrilla warfare campaign against U.S. rule. -
The Adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the National Anthem
President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order to make it our national anthem. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
In this first battle of the American Revolution, Massachusetts colonists defied British authority, outnumbered and outfought the Redcoats